Five Civilians Killed in Fresh Clashes Between AFC/M23 and Wazalendo Fighters in Masisi

At least five civilians were killed and five others injured during fierce clashes between AFC/M23 rebels and Wazalendo fighters from the Alliance of Congolese Nationalists for the Defense of Human Rights (ANCDH), led by Jean-Marie Bonane, in Kivuye village, Masisi Territory, North Kivu Province.

According to local sources, fighting erupted around 4 a.m. on Thursday, November 6, when Wazalendo fighters launched an attack on M23 positions, attempting to reclaim areas that had been under rebel control for several weeks.

Witnesses said the local fighters succeeded in briefly dislodging the rebels from the village but suffered heavy civilian casualties in the process. “At least five civilians were killed and several others wounded,” a resident told reporters.

The clashes also triggered a mass exodus of residents, leaving much of Kivuye deserted as families fled toward safer areas.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high in the nearby territories of Rutshuru, particularly in the Kihondo and Bukombo groupings, where fighting between M23 rebels and Wazalendo combatants from the Collective of Movements for Change (CMC/NYATURA) has intensified in recent days.