M23 rebels seize strategic fishing town in eastern DRC despite peace deal

M23 rebels and their allies on Sunday took over the town of Lunyasenge on the west coast of Lake Edward in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, following clashes with the army that killed 17 people, including seven soldiers.

The Congolese army confirmed in a statement that Lunyasenge has been captured in the eastern province of North Kivu.

Colonel Mak Hazukay, the army spokesperson for the Greater North, condemned the attack as an "intentional and blatant violation of the ceasefire and all measures put in place to follow the ongoing negotiations in Doha, Qatar, and Washington, United States."

Hazukay said the Congolese army reserves "the right to respond on all fronts if the threat from the rebels and their Rwandan allies persists."

Strategic fishing area

The spokesperson in the statement made no mention of the clashes or the casualties, but a local official told Anadolu over the phone, under the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, that seven soldiers and 10 rebels were killed in the clashes.

Locals claimed that the rebels came ashore from Vutsumbi and Kamandi Gite's fisheries.

"I witnessed it firsthand; some of them crossed the lake and into the highlands," a local Muhisa Ngeloko told Anadolu, confirming that the rebels clashed with Congolese soldiers in the town of Lunyasenge.

Lunyasenge is a strategic fishing area located about four hours by boat from Kyavinyonge, an important fishery adjacent to the Virunga National Park, situated on the north coast of Lake Edward.

DRC, Rwanda ceasefire talks

Kyavinyonge provides access to Butembo, Beni, the border town of Kasindi-Lubiriha, and Uganda, and the capture of the Lake Edward fisheries positions the rebels in areas under Ugandan influence.

The M23 group, at the centre of the eastern DR Congo conflict, has intensified its offensive since December, seizing key cities, including Goma and Bukavu.

Kinshasa and others accuse neighbouring Rwanda of supporting M23 — a claim Kigali denies.

In March, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame agreed to a ceasefire during talks mediated by the Emir of Qatar in Doha. Despite the agreement, fighting has continued in parts of North Kivu province.

Respect for sovereignty

In April, DR Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and her Rwandan counterpart Olivier Nduhungirehe signed a US-brokered declaration in Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the event.

The two sides pledged to respect each other’s sovereignty and draft a peace agreement by May 2 to end hostilities in eastern DR Congo, but no statements regarding the deal have been made as of yet.