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DR Congo army says it takes back Kalembe from M23, rebels deny

Democratic Republic of Congo's army on Tuesday said it had taken back the eastern town of Kalembe, a day after it was seized by M23 rebels, but rebels stated they still controlled the town.

Kalembe, a small town in Walikale territory in militia-plagued North Kivu, came under M23 control on Sunday morning when rebels took it from Congolese militaries and pro-government armed groups.

The Tutsi-led M23 group has actually been waging a renewed insurgency in the central African nation's east considering that 2022. Congo and the United Nations implicate neighbouring Rwanda of backing the group with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this.

Congo army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge stated Kalembe had been reclaimed on Monday. But Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), that includes M23, said rebels were still in control.

Ekenge said fighting was ongoing between the pro-government militia and the M23 in locations that were not under army control.

Military soldiers were flown in on helicopters on Monday morning to handle the circumstance, he said.

The M23's attack into Kalembe broke an Angola-mediated ceasefire concurred in August, Angola's government stated on Monday.

An authorities from Walikale territory, Kabaki Alimasi, confirmed the army had taken the town back but said combating continued close by.

The M23 are not far, he stated. We can hear shooting, the population that fled has not yet returned.

The revolt in Congo's mineral-rich east has deepened a. humanitarian crisis in North Kivu, where around 2.6 million. individuals were displaced as of end-September, according to the. United Nations.

(source: Reuters)