M23 group seizes key town in DR Congo

GOMA, Congo

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels entered the strategic town of Walikale in eastern Congo on Thursday, according to residents and civil society leaders, a day after the Congolese and Rwandan presidents called for an immediate ceasefire.

“The information is confirmed: The rebels are visible at the monument and at the Bakusu group office," Prince Kihangi, a former provincial deputy elected for the Walikale territory told The Associated Press over the phone, referring to locations in the center of Walikale. "This confirms the presence of the M23 in the territorial capital."

By taking control of Walikale, the M23 rebels seized a road linking four provinces in the east of the country: North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo and Maniema, cutting off Congolese army's positions.

Heavy artillery fire could be heard throughout the day on March 19 but ceased in the evening, giving way to sporadic gunfire, Fiston Misona, a civil society activist in Walikale, told the AP over the phone.

“Our Congolese army is no longer fighting,” he said. “It’s as if we were being sacrificed.”

The escalation in fighting comes a day after the presidents of Congo and Rwanda held unexpected talks in Qatar and called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January when the Rwanda-backed rebels advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by Bukavu in February.