In a turn of the spiral, the strategic town of Kanyabayonga, locally situated about 100 kilometers north of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fell to M23 rebels supported by Rwanda on June 28th. The rebels, carrying heavy weaponry and bags, entered the town late in the evening after Congolese army forces and local armed groups had retreated. The skirmishes left at least two civilians dead with five others wounded.
Kanyabayonga, a stronghold in northern North Kivu province, is now under the control of M23 rebels. Speaking on condition of anonymity, some residents have told this radio that they witnessed the entrance of rebel fighters in the town center, which corroborates a report from local sources within the civil society in the Lubero territory.
The capture of Kanyabayonga is not only a great military gain; it also leaves open the strategic pathway toward the commercial hubs of Butembo and Beni to the north. Just the previous day, another gain was made by rebels who managed to take the town of Miriki Kimaka, representing their advance into Lubero territory and provoking a new flow of displacement. Colonel Alain Kiwewa, the military administrator of Lubero territory, reported displacements toward Kirumba to the north, without giving any specific numbers.
The capture of Kanyabayonga by M23 rebels has underscored mounting tensions and humanitarian worries in the east of the Congo on a disturbing backdrop of violence and instability.
It will have enormous consequences—immediate as well as long-term—on the immediate security situation and the overall geopolitical landscape of this region.