M23 Captures Masisi in DR Congo

A child carrying water walks past Wazalendo forces fighting M23 rebels on patrol in Sake, DRC, on 31 August 2024.

Africa News and AP

Rebel forces, backed by Rwanda, have seized control of the town of Masisi in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

This marks the second town captured by the M23 group in just two days, in the North Kivu province.

Since 2021, the M23 rebels have taken control of large parts of eastern DR Congo, displacing hundreds of thousands of people in the process.

Efforts to mediate the ongoing conflict have been led by Angola, with talks between Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. However, those negotiations collapsed last month, leaving the region in a continued state of instability.

The Congolese authorities have not yet commented on the loss of the town.

Masisi, which has a population of about 40,000,is about 80km (50 miles) north of the North Kivu provincial capital Goma, which the M23 briefly occupied in 2012.