Rwandan-supported rebels made significant advances in eastern Congo on Wednesday, despite having declared a unilateral ceasefire earlier in the week. They have taken control of a city located 60 miles (96 kilometers) from Bukavu, the provincial capital, according to reports from civil society representatives and local residents.
The U.N. deputy head of its mission in Goma stated that the situation remains extremely unstable, with a continuous threat of escalation.
The M23 rebels announced the ceasefire on Monday, citing humanitarian reasons and the need for safe passage for aid to hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals.
However, the Congolese government has dismissed the ceasefire as “false communication,” and the United Nations has reported ongoing heavy clashes with Congolese forces in the resource-rich area.
Following their takeover of Goma, a provincial capital with a population of 2 million and a center of immense mineral wealth, the rebels are reportedly expanding their control in other parts of eastern Congo and moving towards Bukavu.
While the rebels claimed on Monday that they did not plan to capture Bukavu or other regions, they had previously indicated aspirations to advance towards Kinshasa, the capital located a thousand miles away.
