In the DRC, the M23 has moved closer to Goma in recent days. The rebellion has claimed several localities in recent hours, including Kibumba in the territory of Nyiragongo, only about twenty kilometers from Goma. This Thursday, November 17, 2022, the clashes resumed at midday.
The theater of the fighting is this Thursday in the territory of Nyiragongo north of Goma and the detonations were heard as far as the Kanyaruchinya displacement camp, about ten kilometers from the capital of North Kivu. Clashes confirmed by a senior Congolese army officer. According to several sources, at least one Sukhoi-type fighter plane carried out two bombardments towards Kibumba against M23 positions.
This Wednesday, the rebels claimed the capture of the localities of Kibumba, but also of Tongo, on the other side of the Virunga park, gateway to the territory of Masisi. A resident contacted in this area explains that the rebels are indeed present in Tongo and that they held a meeting last night to ask the people to come back and go about their activities.
On the northern front, on the axis of Mabenga, there has been no fighting for several days. The towns of Kiwanja and Rutshuru are still under M23 control.
262,000 displaced
Clashes which therefore caused massive population movements, according to the latest figures from Ocha. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs evokes this Thursday more than 262,000 displaced people in North Kivu since last March.
At least 262,000 people have been displaced by fighting between the Congolese army and M23 in North-Kivu since March.
Despite security concerns, humanitarians continue to provide vital aid such as food, clean water, and medical supplies.More info:
↪️https://t.co/JAHy3KrBHO pic.twitter.com/FwC5dkD8mG— OCHA DRC (@UNOCHA_DRC) November 16, 2022
More than 120,000 people have reached Nyiragongo territory where the M23 made its first incursion since May last week. It is mostly households that have left Rutshuru since the start of the rebel advance on 20 October.
Ocha adds that children have been disproportionately affected by this violence. The United Nations agency announces that it has registered more than 300 unaccompanied minors in recent days. She also warns that currently more than 630,000 people need humanitarian aid in the province.