Congolese Rebel M23 Group Kidnaps Suspected Fighters In The East

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M23 rebels look on in Kibumba in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on December 23, 2022. - DR Congo's M23 rebels on December 23, 2022 met soldiers from a regional military force to hand over a strategic frontline position near the eastern city of Goma. The Tutsi-led group has conquered swaths of territory in North Kivu province in recent months and come within several dozen kilometres of Goma. Under heavy international pressure to lay down arms, the M23 pledged to leave its position in the town of Kibumba, about 20 kilometres from Goma. Kibumba lies on the current frontline between the M23 and Congolese troops, on a key highway leading to the regional hub of more than one million people. (Photo by GLODY MURHABAZI / AFP)

Fighting between the rebel M23 group and the army in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, continued on Monday,

According to the United Nations and the United States, the mostly ethnic M23 group is backed by neighboring Rwanda, which is mostly governed by ethnic Tutsis.

The clashes began on Sunday in two clusters of villages called Bishusha and Tongo.

A security source confirmed the clashes and added that “the army is still occupying its positions.”

Meanwhile, in Tongo and the surrounding area, about 50 people accused of collaborating with the Nyatura, which is a mostly ethnic Hutu Congolese militia, and the FDLR, which is a militia founded by mostly ethnic Rwandan Hutus, were kidnapped by the M23, Cyprien Ngoragore.

The M23, is a mostly Congolese ethnic Tutsi armed group which was defeated in 2013 but took up arms again late last year. In recent months it has conquered large swathes of territory in North Kivu, a Congolese province bordering Rwanda.