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M23 rebels in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have withdrawn from several villages ahead of military deployments by a regional force, officials in the troubled region said Thursday.
The Tutsi-led rebel group had advanced closer to Goma, threatening to cut off road links to the city of over 1 million people on the border with Rwanda.
Fighting is raging again in Kayah (Karenni) State after around 2,000 junta troops launched a large-scale offensive in late February a few weeks after Myanmar military regime declared martial law in Bawlake, Hpruso, Demoso and Shadaw townships.
Junta troops came through Shan State’s Pinlaung, which borders the regime’s seat of power in Naypyitaw to the west. Fighting has flared in Pekon, just southeast of Pinlaung.
Two rival Al-Shabaab and ISIS militant groups have reportedly clashed in the Puntland state of Somalia, an indication of brewing internal wrangles which could perhaps give a slight advantage to the Somali National Army [SNA] who have been fighting them viciously for the last several months.
Sunday’s clashes took place in the Bari region where militants fought for several hours as they pushed to expand their territories. Al-Shabaab has a numerical advantage in the country and is said to be the most dangerous group.
Russian forces have made progress in their campaign to capture the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, the focus of the war’s longest ground battle, but their assault will be difficult to sustain without more significant personnel losses, British military officials said Saturday.
The U.K. Defense Ministry said in its latest assessment that paramilitary units from the Kremlin-controlled Wagner Group have seized most of eastern Bakhmut, with a river flowing through the city now marking the front line of the fighting.
M23 rebels were advancing in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, according to local officials, after a regional ceasefire agreement collapsed.
Clashes with troops erupted on Monday in North Kivu province – where the Tutsi-led M23 have captured swathes of territory since re-emerging from dormancy in late 2021 – and continued through Wednesday.