The M23 rebel group has taken over the town of Nyanzale in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been a stronghold of FDLR for 25 years.
Based in eastern DR Congo for more than two decades, the FDLR is a terrorist militia group formed by remnants of the perpetrators of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Nyanzale is about 130 km north by road from the provincial capital Goma, and is home to thousands of internally displaced people who fled fighting in surrounding areas.
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Located more than 100 kilometres north of the North Kivu provincial capital Goma, Nyanzale is at the junction of Lubero, Butembo and Walikare areas. Reports says the rebels also took control of the localities of Kashalira, Kirima and Ngoroba.
When asked whether the M23 had seized Nyanzale, Congolese army commander Jerome Chico Tshitambwe replied: “yes”.
FDLR is part of a Congolese government-led coalition that includes Burundian forces, troops from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), fighting M23 rebels. The UN-sanctioned militia poses a threat to Rwanda and is accused of spreading genocide ideology against Congolese Tutsi communities.
The M23 is a Tutsi-led group that has intensified its campaign in eastern Congo this year. UN experts and Western powers such as the United States and France say that the group is backed by Rwanda, which Rwanda denies.
The European Union this week called for dialogue between Congo and Rwanda in order to tackle the root causes of the conflict, saying only a political solution could end it.
“The strengthening of military capabilities as well as the use of surface-to-air missiles and sophisticated drones constitute a worrying escalation,” the EU said.
Since early 2024, hostilities escalated and the fighting got closer to Goma, the capital of DR Congo’s North Kivu Province, following the withdrawal of the East African Community regional force which had been mandated with observing a ceasefire.
