Intense clashes broke out this Sunday, October 20, between the M23 rebels and the Wazalendo resistance fighters in the town of Kalembe, located between the territories of Masisi and Walikale. This attack was marked by an advance of M23 elements, who, for the first time according to our sources, managed to occupy part of the territory of Walikale, a sector hitherto spared by their military advance.
This is the very first entity in the Walikale territory (North Kivu) to be conquered by the rebels since the start of the conflict at the end of 2021.
According to intelligence Sources we gathered from Saturday evening and on site reports say that the hostilities were launched around 4am this Sunday by a group of rebels, who allegedly came from Kashuga, and who allegedly set fire to a Wazalendo position of the NDC-Renové and APCLS group.
The news is corroborated by MP Willy Mishiki, elected member from Walikale. The latter fears the rebels' breakthrough towards the neighboring provinces of Tshopo, South Kivu and Maniema.
" The war in the East has just taken a decisive turn today with the fall of the town of Kalembe this Sunday at 9am. It is the first village reached by the aggressors and their puppets in the territory of Walikale, the last barrier to reach the provinces of Tshopo, South Kivu and Maniema with a conflagration effect towards other provinces of the country. Kalembe is a very strategic town, providing access to Lubero and Rutshuru and Tshopo via the Oninga grouping ," warns the national deputy.
The Wazalendo, deprived of weapons, retreated to the hills overlooking the locality, said the same source, which called on the National Assembly to urgently look into the matter.
The Walikale territory is now the 5th in North Kivu to be affected by the conflict after Rutshuru, Masisi, Lubero and Nyiragongo, despite the state of siege declared in early May 2021.
Furthermore, the territory of Beni, towards the north, remains the scene of terrorist attacks maintained by the ADF. Only the cities of Goma, Butembo and Beni, equally threatened by urban crime, still remain symbolic of the authorities of the state of siege.
On the ground, the Congolese army is still observing a ceasefire decreed by the Luanda peace process since August 4.
" This abandonment of the ex-Wazalendo risks complicating the situation on the ground while our government is distracted by the ceasefire in Luanda while our enemies are recovering areas and the FARDC are no longer fighting ," fears Willy Mishiki.
On Saturday, October 12, during the 5th ministerial meeting in Luanda, Congolese and Rwandan delegates agreed to work on a harmonized plan to neutralize the FDLR rebels as well as the lifting of Rwandan defense measures, without clearly mentioning the start of hostilities against the M23.
While the Congolese government, through Judith Suminwa, relayed that in Luanda, Kigali had agreed to withdraw its 4,000 soldiers present on Congolese soil, Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, denied this, continuing to deny the presence of soldiers from the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The fighting, which began in the morning, involved several surrounding villages, including Bwito, Ibuga-Kashuga, Kitunda and Ihula, with Kalembe as the main scene of clashes. Around 10 a.m., our Intelligence sources confirmed the occupation of Kalonge, part of Kalembe, by M23 forces. The latter came from Kashuga and launched attacks on these different fronts,with claims of reinforcements in men and combat equipment from Rwanda. These clashes were accompanied by a human toll marked by injuries among civilians: two young boys were were hit by stray bullets during the exchanges of fire. Many civilians took refuge in health facilities, others holed up in their homes, while some fled into the bush to escape the fighting. The occupation of Kalembe by the M23, an entry point into the territory of Walikale, is an unprecedented fact. This reveals not only the geographical extension of the zone of influence of this rebel group, but also the growing fragility of the region in the face of armed violence.
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