The leader of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo on Thursday dismissed a call by Kinshasa and Kigali for an immediate ceasefire.
The rebel leader said the call does not concern the group as his forces pushed deeper into Congolese territory by capturing the strategic town of Walikale.
DAILY POST reports that 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 no fewer than 15,000 people reportedly fell after fighting on Wednesday between the rebels and the army and allied militias.
It was gathered that 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 now controls Walikale,” Nestor Mavudisa, a spokesperson for Democratic Republic of Congo’s army said.
Walikale is said to be in an area rich in minerals including tin and lies along a road that links four eastern Congo provinces.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame called on Tuesday for an immediate ceasefire after a surprise meeting in Qatar’s capital Doha, their first direct talks this year.