Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have seized control of a mining town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province, eight sources said on Wednesday, in an apparent violation of a unilateral ceasefire they declared this week.
The capture of Nyabibwe on Lake Kivu takes the rebels a step closer to the provincial capital Bukavu some 70 km (40 miles) south, a city the rebels said last week they had no intention of capturing. M23 announced a ceasefire on Monday.
Eight people, including local officials, a civil society representative, rebels and an international security source, confirmed Nyabibwe had fallen to the rebels.
“There have been clashes since 5 a.m., and it was at 9 a.m. that the town fell into the hands of the rebels. They’re in the centre of the town at the moment,” said the civil society leader, who like the other sources spoke on condition of anonymity.
Nyabibwe, where mines produce gold, coltan and other metals, is a commercial hub more than halfway between Goma, the capital of North Kivu province that the rebels took last week, and Bukavu.
Congo’s Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya told Reuters rebels violated the ceasefire at night and were facing resistance from Congolese armed forces around Nyabibwe.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance rebel coalition that includes M23, confirmed the group moved into Nyabibwe. “They attacked us and we defended ourselves,” he told Reuters.
This advance could indicate M23 had renewed push towards Bukavu that the group launched after they seized Goma last week.
A Congo military court issued an international arrest warrant for Nangaa on Tuesday accusing him of war crimes and treason.
The capture of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s largest city displaced hundreds of thousands of people and fanned fears of a wider regional war.
Congo accuses Rwanda of using the M23 to pillage valuable mineral deposits. Rwanda says it is acting in self-defence and to protect ethnic Tutsis.
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