Fighting Erupts in Eastern DR Congo a Day After Peace Deal Signed

Kigali: Fresh fighting erupted in eastern DR Congo on Friday, forcing hundreds to flee across the border into Rwanda, just a day after a peace deal was signed in Washington. Thursday's agreement aimed to stabilize the resource-rich east but has had little visible effect so far in an area plagued by conflict for 30 years. Fighters from the anti-government armed group M23 engaged in battle with the Congolese army in South Kivu province, backed by thousands of Burundian soldiers deployed alongside it. According to Nam News Network, both sides are fighting for control of the border town of Kamanyola, where the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi meet. M23 currently controls the area. Detonations that shook buildings echoed throughout the morning near Kamanyola, Bugarama, a border post on the Rwandan side, some two kilometers away. On Friday, M23 accused the Burundian army of firing continuously into the DRC. A Burundian military source stated they were reinforcing their positions to prevent being overrun by M23 fighters and their Rwandan backers. The fighting is intensifying, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity, and there is a real risk the situation escalates. Reinforcements are being brought to the front as this is a red line for Burundi. The source emphasized that Burundi could not accept if M23 and their Rwandan backers reached Uvira, a city in DRC less than 30 kilometers from the Burundian capital Bujumbura. Lines of civilians fleeing the fighting crossed the border in the early hours, watched by Rwandan police. "The bombs were exploding above the houses," said one witness, Immaculee Antoinette, from Ruhumba, near Kamanyola. "We were asked to remain locked inside our houses, but that seemed impossible." Hassan Shabani, an administrative official in Kamanyola, reported that schools, hospitals, and civilian homes were all shelled. On the Rwandan side, some residents were in small groups scouring the hills from where the shots were coming, said local Farizi Bizimana. "The children and women are very scared and take refuge in houses when the gunfire becomes intense," she added. In January, M23 backed by Kigali and its army, went on the offensive, capturing the major regional cities of Goma in North Kivu province and Bukavu in South Kivu.