On this hill in North Kivu, located 3 km from the front line, and 23 km from the border with Uganda, the M23 militiamen hold their positions.

"We see them with their weapons, they have 12.7 machine guns," notes a Congolese soldier.

For the past month, the Congolese army has reinforced its numbers to contain the advance of the rebels.

"The enemy we have in front of us has heavy weapons, mortars, machine guns... We too have weapons to defend our positions and prevent them from reaching here", says Sangwa Muganza, adjutant - chief of the armed forces of the DR Congo.

“We have already succeeded twice in repelling them”.

Since the resurgence of the M23, the Congolese army is surprised to see the militiamen so well armed and equipped.

The group had however been defeated in 2013 and then demobilized.

For the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo), there is no doubt: the M23 enjoys the support of neighboring countries, mainly Rwanda.

>> To read: 

DR Congo - Rwanda: why this renewed tension?

"A Proxy War"

"As we came into contact with the enemy, we realized that it was indeed the Rwandan army that was supporting this enemy and that the war that the M23 was waging against us was not was just a proxy war," said Colonel Guillaume Ndjike, spokesperson for the Sukula 2 operational sector.

Ten years ago, Rwanda was already supporting the M23 and had been publicly condemned by the UN.

Today, the Congolese army also accuses Kigali of intervening directly on its soil and presents what it describes as evidence, like drone photos showing soldiers advancing in column in the middle of the night, or weapons and equipment found on the battlefield.

At the end of May, two Rwandan soldiers were arrested in North Kivu before being released and handed over to Kigali.

Neither the Rwandan ambassador to DR Congo nor the spokesperson for the Rwandan army wished to answer questions from France 24.

"Any accusation or counter-accusation of this nature can only be verified through the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism [of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region] and not through statements in the media," said Brigadier General Ronald Rwivanga, spokesman for the Rwandan army, in a press release.

In their latest report, published in June, UN experts confirmed the presence of Rwandan soldiers in M23 camps in DR Congo, citing aerial images and photographic evidence.

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