Residents and a local official reported that M23 rebel fighters took over the town of Kiwanja in eastern Congo on Saturday, completely cutting off Goma, the capital of North Kivu, from the province’s upper half.
After a brief exchange of gunfire on Saturday morning, three Kiwanja residents told Reuters that hordes of fighters had rolled into the town without encountering much resistance.
Four peacekeepers were hurt in the combat, according to a UN intervention brigade that has been assisting government forces. The future of the town was not addressed in the statement.
“Attacks against U.N. peacekeepers may constitute war crimes,” it said, as reported by Reuters. “(The mission) calls on this rebel group to immediately cease all belligerence and warns that it stands ready to respond vigorously in the event of further aggression.”
Residents claimed that the Congolese army force that had been guarding the town had left the day before. To move the combat away from communities and safeguard civilians, the army has strategically retreated from populous regions.
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The army withdrew from Rumangabo, their main camp in the region, on Saturday, according to Kivu Security Tracker, which also reported that M23 had surrounded the nearby UN peacekeeper camp and the Virunga National Park.
The Congo Research Group, housed at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, and Human Rights Watch collaborated on the tracker, which employs researchers based throughout eastern Congo, especially in North Kivu.
Saidi Balikwisha Emil, a member of North Kivu’s provincial parliament, said in a WhatsApp message, “The fall of Kiwanja and elsewhere is a national disgrace, especially for those of us who spend entire days on social networks casting aspersions on our army.”
(with inputs from agencies)
