In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Congolese authorities said its troops and its allies clashed with the M23 rebel group, supported by Rwandan soldiers, in the mining town of Nyabibwe in South Kivu.
"Our positions have been attacked," the spokesperson for the Congolese government, Patrick Muyaya, told RFI, adding that the M23 has broken the ceasefire it had unilaterally declared on 3 February 2025.
The latest clashes began in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday in the Kalehe territory, near Nyabibwe, in South Kivu province, a commercial hub and home mines producing gold, coltan and other metals.
According to the Congolese government, Rwandan reinforcements are said to have crossed the border at Goma during the night to support this offensive against government FARDC positions.
Goma is the capital of North Kivu province, fell into rebel hands last week.
The capture of Nyabibwe on Lake Kivu brings the rebels a step closer to the provincial capital Bukavu some 70 kms south, a city the rebels said last week they had no intention of capturing.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance rebel coalition that includes M23, confirmed the group moved into Nyabibwe. "They attacked us and we defended ourselves," he said.
A Congolese military court issued an international arrest warrant for Nangaa on Tuesday accusing him of war crimes and treason.
M23 rebels advance as efforts to contain DRC crisis intensify
'Staggering' human toll
Meanwhile, the scale of the civilian toll was still emerging in the city of Goma where people last week were caught in the crossfire and fighting destroyed buildings, overwhelmed hospitals and left bodies strewn in the streets.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday estimated at least 2,800 people died in Goma.
"The human toll is staggering. We and our partners are struggling to assess the full extent of the situation," spokesperson Jens Laerke said via email.
International Criminal Court prosecutors said they were closely monitoring events after reports of possible war crimes in the battle for Goma.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its medical warehouse in Goma was looted last week and would take months to restore.
The city's bishop, Willy Ngumbi, on Wednesday deplored damage to a maternity ward from explosives and called for talks with neighbouring countires to prevent an escalation of the conflict.
Regional summit
In Congo's capital Kinshasa, lawmakers in the National Assembly held a lengthy closed-door extraordinary session to discuss the crisis ahead of a weekend meeting.
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and his DRC counterpart Felix Tshisekedi are due to attend the summit of the eight-country East African Community (EAC) and 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
Congo accuses Rwanda of using the M23 to pillage valuable mineral deposits. Rwanda says it is acting in self-defence and to protect ethnic Tutsis.
Kagame, who denies backing the M23, has called for a "de-escalation" in the region.
On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council will convene a special session on the crisis, at Kinshasa's request.
(With newswires)
