Congo rebels seize eastern border town, local activists say

M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have seized the eastern town of Bunagana on the border with Uganda, local activists said on Monday, in a setback for Congolese forces who had said a day earlier they had the insurgents on the run.

Bunagana was an M23 stronghold during a 2012 insurrection that briefly overran the major city of Goma before Congolese and UN forces chased the rebels into neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda the following year.

The office of North Kivu’s military governor said on Sunday that Congolese forces had “routed” the M23 following early-morning attacks near Bunagana, which is one of the main crossings into Uganda.

But Jean-Baptise Twizere, the president of a local civil society group, said the town fell to the rebels on Sunday night.

“Congolese soldiers who found themselves encircled by enemies in Bunagana could not do anything and since 11 pm they have left the