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Rebel forces backed by Rwanda have captured the town of Masisi in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to various reports.<\/p>\n
This is the second town seized by the M23 group in as many days in the mineral-rich North Kivu province.<\/p>\n
The group has taken control of vast swathes of eastern DR Congo since 2021, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.<\/p>\n
Angola has been attempting to mediate talks between President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame. But these broke down last month.<\/p>\n
“It is with dismay that we learn of the capture of Masisi centre by the M23,” Alexis Bahunga, a member of North Kivu provincial assembly, told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n
He said this “plunges the territory into a serious humanitarian crisis” and urged the government to strengthen the capacity of the army in the region.<\/p>\n
One resident told AFP that the M23 had held a meeting of the town’s inhabitants, saying they had “come to liberate the country”.<\/p>\n
The Congolese authorities have not yet commented on the loss of the town.<\/p>\n
Masisi, which has a population of about 40,000, is the capital of the territory of the same name.<\/p>\n
It is about 80km (50 miles) north of the North Kivu provincial capital Goma, which the M23 briefly occupied in 2012.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the M23 captured the nearby town of Katale.<\/p>\n
Last year, there were fears that the M23 would once again march on Goma<\/a>, a city of about two million people.<\/p>\n However, there was then a lull in fighting until early December when fighting resumed.<\/p>\n