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Rebel Fighters Eye Strategic County Walikale, as government forces undergo defects against the background of continuing battles.
The M23 armed group has inserted a deeper into the mineral region of the Democratic Republic of Congo after winning the key cities of Goma and Bukavu-Houses of the provinces of North and South Kivu, respectively, in recent weeks.
Security sources told Al Jazeera that the Rwanda -backed rebels entered the village of Nyabiondo, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Goma and located on the road leading to the strategic city of Walikale in North Kivu.
“Walikale is very important to the government as it is the only place where the government has the industrial mine from which they receive millions of tax payments,” said Allen Waikani to Al Jazeera, Goma reported.
In a major failure in government forces, one of the Allied Government armed groups, known as the Cabido group, has announced that it has joined M23 fighters. The Cabido Group has been activated in Eastern DRC for decades and has been fighting the army over the last three years. Its leaders have announced this weekend that it has officially joined the M23 to fight what they call “bad government of the Kinshas government.”
“This shows the disorganization in the army of DRC and M23 took advantage of this situation on the spot,” Waikani said, adding that a second group gave up shortly after.
Meanwhile, the service of the United Nations Organization for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCA) said the escalating attacks have hit hospitals and other civil infrastructure, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
“Between March 1 and March 3, several hospitals were directed by armed participants in the escalation of violence against medical centers and health staff,” Amen said. Goma security is threatened by “the resumption of criminal actions, including the expansion of homes, theft and attacks,” said on Sunday, adding that hospitals and schools were also forced to close in other areas.
He had said that at least four civilians were killed in battles between the M23 and rival groups in the masis area between February 18 and 25, and more than 100,000 people were recently displaced in Lubero to the north.
A $ 5 million prize to capture the M23 rebel leaders
Meanwhile, authorities in the DRC have offered a $ 5 million award for helping with rebel leaders, as government forces are struggling to limit their progress.
“A five million dollar award is offered to any person to help arrest Cornei Nanga, Bertrand Bisimva and Sultani Mackenga,” the Ministry of Justice said on Friday.
Nanga is a leader in the Alliance of the Congo River (AFC)-a military-political coalition to which the M23 belongs. He is also a former president of the Independent National Election Commission of the DRC. Bisimva and Mackenga are the President and Military Chief of M23 respectively.
He tried in absentia in Kinshasa, all three men were sentenced and sentenced to death in August 2024.
Authorities of the DRC also offer a $ 4 million wealth for any information leading to the arrest of the three “accomplices of movement” and “other sought -after persons,” the statement said.
More than 7,000 people have been killed in battles in the eastern DRC since January, with a “significant” number of civilians among the dead.
The M23 is one of more than 200 armed groups operating in the Eastern DRC and fighting for control of minerals in the region. After sleeping for more than a decade, the group in 2021 resumed the fight and seized large territories in North Kivu, which borders Rwanda.
In recent weeks, the M23 has launched a lightning bodies, gaming And Bukavo. A group of UN experts and the United States accuses Rwanda to support M23 – Claims that Kigali denies.
