Fighting displaces civilians in South Kivu
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Fides News Agency
Fighting pitted Congolese armed forces and their allies against Front pour la Refondation de la Nation fighters in Katogota, South Kivu, on the night of 5 to 6 November. Civilians fled towards Kamanyola, Luvungi, Sange and Uvira, according to ACMEJ, cited by Fides.
Clashes between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), supported by Wazalendo militias, and fighters from the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation (FRN), formerly M23-AFC, took place on the night of 5 to 6 November in Katogota, in the Ruzizi Plain in South Kivu. The Association against evil and for youth integration (ACMEJ), a human rights organisation based in the region, says the fighting, carried out with heavy and light weapons, pushed civilians towards Kamanyola, Luvungi and Sange, while others went to Uvira.
ACMEJ says displaced people and refugees in neighbouring countries are still living in difficult conditions after more than a year of flight. Representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda are due to meet on 19 November in Switzerland in an attempt to end the hostilities, according to Fides News Agency.
The talks are expected to focus in particular on the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and the neutralisation of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group that has been present in eastern DR Congo for more than 25 years. Kigali considers the FDLR a threat to its security and regularly cites its presence to justify its military interventions in Congolese territory, reports Fides News Agency.
