GOMA: The Congolese army lost territory Monday in fighting with Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern DR Congo, military and local sources said, a day after a peace summit between the presidents of the two countries was canceled.
Since 2021, the Kigali-backed M23 rebel militia has seized swaths of land in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, displacing thousands and triggering a humanitarian crisis.
DRC armed forces lost control of Matembe, a town in North Kivu province located on the road to the key commercial hub of Butembo, after clashes broke out Sunday with the M23, according to the local and military sources.
Fighting resumed early Monday “in the hills between Matembe and the neighboring town of Vutsorovya,” John Mahangaiko, spokesman for a pro-Kinshasa militia operating alongside the army in the area, said.
A Congolese military source confirmed that the army was forced to “retreat.”
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame were due to meet on Sunday, hosted by Angolan President Joao Lourenco, the African Union mediator to end the conflict. But the summit was abruptly canceled after talks between delegations from both sides stalled overnight.
