Renewed hostilities between the M23 and the Wazalendo in Nyanzale following a short pause.

The security situation remains tense in the locality of Nyanzale, located in the Rutshuru territory of North Kivu, where new clashes erupted on Sunday afternoon, June 22, between local fighters known as Wazalendo and the AFC-M23 rebels, abruptly ending the calm that had been observed earlier in the morning. Intense crossfire was heard throughout the neighborhoods of the locality, causing panic among the residents.

According to local sources, civilians who had just returned to their homes in Nyanzale after a period of displacement barricaded themselves inside, fearing large-scale fighting.

Witnesses reported the presence of Wazalendo fighters (VDP) in the vicinity, while M23 rebels intensified their attempts to regain control of the neighboring village of Kiyeye, located in the Kihondo grouping.

Earlier in the day, the Wazalendo from the CMC movement issued a statement condemning a shell attack on several localities, including Nyarubande, Burambo, Muhanga, Kihondo-center, and Kiyeye, which occurred on Saturday. They announced their intention to respond swiftly to what they termed a provocation.

Simultaneously, other clashes were also reported in the vicinity of Katsiru, involving the same parties: M23 and Wazalendo.

The preliminary toll from Saturday’s attack indicates that two civilians, a man and a woman, were killed in Kihondo-center, along with ten houses set ablaze in Nyarubande, in the Bwito chiefdom, according to local sources.