The Democratic Republic of Congo deployed two warplanes against advancing M23 militants on Thursday in the country’s volatile east, sources said, after a regional bloc called for rebels to disarm, IgbereTV reports
Tanks and two fighter jets targeted rebel positions in the town of Kibumba at noon, according to a resident who spoke to AFP via telephone from the region’s main city Goma.
M23 fighters recently captured the town in North Kivu province, which lies just 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Goma, a commercial hub of one million people.
A security official, who requested anonymity, confirmed the warplane strikes. “We have hope, we are moving forward,” he told AFP.
The retaliation by Congolese forces comes as the M23 has been pushing closer towards Goma, sparking fears of an attack on the city.
Drawn mostly from Congolese Tutsis, the rebel group has recently captured swathes of territory across North Kivu.
The advance has triggered a humanitarian crisis and a showdown with Rwanda — which the DRC accuses of backing the M23.
Local residents and administrative officials told AFP that the M23 has also begun a push westwards into North Kivu’s Masisi territory, from its stronghold near the border with Uganda and Rwanda.
“The rebels are here,” a resident of Tongo, a town lying on the road leading to Masisi territory, said on Thursday.
An official in the local administration, who requested anonymity, also told AFP late Wednesday that M23 fighters had entered his office.
The DRC’s army has yet to communicate officially about the rebel advance.
Thousands of people marched against the M23 in protests held across the country on Thursday, including more than 15,000 in the capital Kinshasa, according to the organisers
