By Giulia Paravicini
The leader of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo said on Thursday that a call by Kinshasa and Kigali for an immediate ceasefire “doesn’t concern us” as his forces pushed deeper into Congolese territory by capturing the strategic town of Walikale.
Walikale is the farthest west the rebels have reached in a swift advance since January that has already overrun eastern Congo’s two largest cities. The town of 15,000 people fell after fighting on Wednesday between the rebels and the army and allied militias.
The conflict, rooted in the fallout from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and competition for mineral riches, is eastern Congo’s worst since a 1998-2003 war that drew in multiple neighbouring countries and resulted in millions of deaths.
With troops from Congo, Rwanda and Burundi having all participated in fighting this year, a conflict that has simmered for years is evolving into a wider regional war, experts say.
“The enemy
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