A fresh battle of supremacy is raging between the M23 rebel and a rival militia in eastern DR Congo.
Sources said on Thursday that members of the Patriotic Alliance for a Free and Independent Congo (APCLS) militia are in combat with M23 in the Kihonga and Ruhanga areas of North Kivu.
APCLS spokesman Heritier Ndangendange confirmed that clashes had erupted with the M23 on Thursday morning.
“We are in the middle of fighting,” a commander from the APCLS stated.
The armed group mostly made up of Hunde ethnic group is dedicated to routing the M23 group which has taken control of swaths of territory in North Kivu in recent months.
The M23, a Tutsi-led rebel group is one of several active militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s crisis-prone east.
After briefly occupying North Kivu’s capital Goma in 2012, it was beaten back and grounded the following year.
In 2021, the M23 insurgents took up arms again blaming the Congolese government for reneging on its commitment to integrate its fighters into the army, among other grievances.
They have since advanced across Rutshuru – winning a string of victories against the Congolese army. Their existence now terrify many in Goma, a commercial hub of over a million residents.
The APCLS and its allies from the pro-Hutu Nyatura group also clashed with M23 rebels on December 16.
Congo have consistently accused Rwanda of supporting the M23, a claim which Rwanda has repeatedly denied.
A recent UN experts’ report found “substantial evidence” that Rwanda has intervened in the DRC to support M23 rebels.
Evidence also points to joint Rwandan-M23 attacks on Congolese forces.