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M23 rebels in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have withdrawn from several villages ahead of military deployments by a regional force, officials in the troubled region said Thursday.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.
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.
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.
Twenty-four days of fighting, officials say, displaces 200,000 families in Las Anod town, which straddles a key trade route and is claimed by both Somaliland and neighbouring Puntland, a semi-autonomous state of Somalia.
More than 200 people lost their lives in over 24 days of clashes between security forces and clans in a disputed part of Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region, an official has said.
Local residents and aid workers say a rebel group linked with neighboring Rwanda has seized more territory as fighting intensified in conflict-ridden east Congo.
M23 rebels captured Mushaki village in North Kivu province Friday after more than two days of clashes with government forces and militias, sending people fleeing.