June 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
At least two civilians have been killed and five wounded in a clash between the March 23 Movement militia and a rival armed group in the north-eastern Congolese province of North Kivu.
The clashes began this afternoon when a group of the M23 and guerrillas from the coalition of the Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo engaged in shooting in the town of Kirumbu, in Masisi territory.
The alliance is, fundamentally, a mai-mai group opposed on principle to the M23 and to the alleged support that Rwanda grants to this guerrilla — denied by the Rwandan government — and in the last few hours its members have taken control of two towns until now in the hands of the March 23 Movement, according to security sources told Radio Okapi.
Among the dead civilians there is a professor, according to the same sources, who have reported a new exodus of the population in the area after several days of fighting.
The Congolese Army spokesman, Colonel Ndjike Guillaume, has confirmed the clashes as well as the deployment of a contingent along the Kitshanga axis to restore calm in the area.
