Eastern DR Congo: fighting between the army and the M23 near Sake

An aerial view of Sake, in May 2021. AFP - ALEXIS HUGUET

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The fighting between the army and the M23 rebellion is concentrated on the road that connects Sake to Butembo, not far from Goma, capital of the province of North Kivu.

The situation in eastern DRC will be at the heart of a summit of heads of state of the East African Community (EAC) scheduled for Saturday, February 4, in Bujumbura.

Expected in particular are Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who have not met since September.

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In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fighting between the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) and the M23 is concentrated on the road linking Sake to Butembo.

More precisely, the front line is this Friday about thirty kilometers north of Sake.

For many analysts, this locality is the next target of the rebellion.

Indeed, the capture of this important city would completely isolate Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

A scenario feared in particular by civil society, which highlights supply difficulties and warns of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the province.

Each movement of the front line is accompanied by significant population displacements.

The villages at the entrance to Masisi are emptying, explains a civil society official and currently there is almost no assistance for these increasingly numerous displaced persons, he adds.

► To read also: DRC: MSF head of mission "still expects population displacements" in North Kivu

On February 3, Monusco, the UN mission in the country, announced that it was going to secure a convoy which must leave Goma to reach Kitshanga,

.

Objective: to bring food and medical supplies to displaced people who have found refuge in and around the United Nations base.

Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame expected at a summit in Bujumbura

The situation in eastern DR Congo will be at the heart of a summit of heads of state of the East African Community (EAC) scheduled for this Saturday, February 4, 2023, in Bujumbura, Burundi.

All the presidents of the region are expected, including the Congolese Félix Tshisekedi and the Rwandan Paul Kagame, who have not met since September 2022 in New York.

The two countries have been in crisis since the return of the M23 armed rebellion in North Kivu more than a year ago.

A process signed in Luanda in November was to achieve a ceasefire and a withdrawal of rebels from occupied areas.

Which is not at all the case today.

The ceasefire between the M23 and the FARDC, which was still holding a little, was completely shattered during the month of January when the rebellion reached after Rutshuru, the territory of Masisi.

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