After capturing Goma, the main city in North Kivu province, last week, the M23 and Rwandan troops launched a new offensive on Wednesday in a neighbouring province.

Goma remains “under occupation” by Congo’s M23 rebels and the ceasefire they announced has been broken as their forces engage in heavy fighting along the main route to South Kivu’s main city Bukavu.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have seized control of a mining town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's South Kivu province, eight sources said on Wednesday, in an apparent violation of a unilateral ceasefire they declared this week.

The group has made dramatic advances in Congo’s North Kivu province since re-emerging as a force in late 2021. It has repeatedly denied receiving support from Rwanda. And the government in Kigali equivocates about its support for the rebels.