Located more than sixty kilometers from Goma, the town of Bambo in North Kivu has been emptied of its inhabitants.
On Wednesday, panicked by mortar fire and bursts of weapons: men, women and children had to flee hastily towards the north to reach areas under government control. According to this resident, the M23 rebels have regained control of this locality.
Bambo was taken by the M23 in November 2022. A nearby village, Kishishe, was the scene of a massacre attributed to this rebellion supported, according to the government, by Rwanda.
In April, the M23 withdrew and remained about twenty km away ever since. Since Wednesday, no source has been able to confirm the recapture of the city by the Congolese Armed Forces.
According to the United Nations humanitarian coordination, nearly 200,000 people have fled their homes since the resumption of fighting at the beginning of October, after six months of relative calm, between the M23 rebellion on the one hand, the Congolese army (FARDC) and armed groups called “patriots” (“wazalendo”) on the other hand.
Mali: Minusma withdraws amid military escalation
The UN mission is accelerating its departure from Mali. Meanwhile, the Malian army is working to recover its bases.
Last week, the Tessalit and Aguelhok camps, both located in the Kidal region, were liberated in a particularly tense context. UN convoys were attacked with explosive devices which caused injuries according to Minusma.
Minusma said it was forced to destroy or decommission equipment such as vehicles, ammunition or generators, following UN rules, as it could not take them away. Separatist groups who oppose the advance of the army in this part of Mali are increasing their attacks.
Next week, the Kidal camp will be evacuated, which should focus tensions. This northern bastion concentrates terrorist groups, separatists and drug traffickers who oppose the establishment of the Malian army and administration in this vast region. At the beginning of October, the FAMA claimed to be at the gates of Kidal, in the town of Anefis.