Fresh clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo forced hundreds to cross into Rwanda on Friday, a day after a high-profile peace agreement was signed in Washington.
The deal, intended to calm the mineral-rich eastern provinces, has so far had little visible impact on the ground in a region plagued by decades of violence.
Fighting resumed in South Kivu province as members of the M23 rebel group engaged the Congolese army, which was operating alongside thousands of Burundian soldiers deployed near the front. Both sides battled for control of Kamanyola, a strategic border town at the meeting point of the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi. By Friday, M23 fighters had taken control of the town.
Detonations shook buildings across the border, an AFP reporter based about 2km away in the Rwandan post of Bugarama said. M23 accused Burundian forces of sustained artillery and gunfire into Congolese territory. A Burundian military source, speaking anonymously, said troops were being reinforced to prevent M23 and what the source described as their Rwandan backers from overrunning positions. The source warned the situation was intensifying and risked escalating, calling the front a ‘‘red line’’ for Burundi and saying Bujumbura could not accept M23 advancing toward Uvira, less than 30km away.
Lines of civilians fled into Rwanda in the early hours, monitored by Rwandan police at crossing points. One resident from Ruhumba near Kamanyola said bombs had been exploding over houses and that people were initially told to stay indoors but could not remain safely sheltered. Local officials in Kamanyola reported that schools, hospitals and homes were hit by shelling.
On the Rwandan side of the border, residents said small groups were scanning nearby hills for the source of gunfire. Women and children, they added, were frightened and frequently sought refuge indoors when shooting flared.
M23, which Western and regional officials allege has backing from Kigali, launched an offensive in January that captured the regional city of Goma in North Kivu. In February the group also seized Bukavu in South Kivu. The Washington agreement was signed on Thursday by DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame; the host, the US president, hailed the pact as a remarkable breakthrough.