GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Democratic Republic of Congo’s M23 rebels have seized the eastern town of Minova, a main supply route for the provincial capital Goma, a rebel leader and the provincial governor said on Tuesday.
The Tutsi-led M23 group has been waging a renewed insurgency in the Central African country’s east since 2022. Congo and the United Nations accuse neighbouring Rwanda of backing the group with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this.
“Minova is in our hands,” said Corneille Nangaa, leader of the anti-government Congo River Alliance (AFC), which includes M23.
The fall of the town could put the key eastern city of Goma, around 40 km (24.85 miles) away, in the rebels’ sights. The town’s capture was confirmed by provincial governor Jean-Jacques Purusi.
A civilian in Minova, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that the rebels had entered the town at around 5:30 a.m.
The sound of heavy weapons was heard in the neighbouring city of Goma, a Reuters witness said.
An international school in the west of Goma sent a message to parents, saying classes were cancelled because the noise was making it difficult to study.
After battling the M23, the government soldiers who were trying to secure Minova were forced out, civil society leader, James Musanganya, told Reuters.
The rebels were trying to convince people to stay in the town after they started leaving for more secure areas, Musanganya said.
Congo’s Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya told Reuters the government had been monitoring the situation.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told Reuters that some 15 humanitarian NGOs and agencies in Minova had suspended their activities for security reasons.
OCHA said than 484,000 displaced people were in Minova, including 178,000 who arrived between Jan. 4 and Jan. 20.
“If the aid workers leave, all these displaced people will be left without assistance,” a coordinator of an international NGO told Reuters.
(Reporting by Yassin Kombi, Djaffar Al Katanty, Stanis Bujakera, Crispin Kyala, Fiston Mahamba, Arlette Bashizi, Sonia Rolley and Ange Kasongo; writing by Anait Miridzhanian; editing by Jason Neely, Ros Russell and Tomasz Janowski)
