Fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 rebel group intensified in eastern Congo in recent days ahead of much anticipated peace talks on Sunday, the army said.
Congo's army accused the M23 of killing 12 civilians earlier this week in villages of the Lubero territory in the eastern province of North-Kivu in a statement on Friday. An M23 spokesperson told The Associated Press it denied the accusation, discrediting it as “propaganda” from Congo's government.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, in a conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced.
Congo and the United Nations accuse Rwanda of backing M23. Rwanda denies the claim, but in February admitted that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo to safeguard its security, pointing to a buildup of Congolese forces near the border. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.
Last month, Congo and Rwanda’s foreign ministers agreed on the terms and conditions of the disengagement of Rwandan forces in eastern Congo.
In July, Congo signed a ceasefire with M23 that came into effect in August, but fighting has resumed since. Earlier this month, the United States said it was “gravely concerned” by ceasefire violations by M23 rebels.
The intensification of fighting comes as Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame are set to meet Sunday in Angola, which has been mediating the conflict. It will be their first official meeting since last year.
Aline Kasereka, a mother of six living in Lubero, a town 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the villages where the fighting took place earlier this week, said the peace talks are urgently needed.
“We are tired of the war, every day we move, we do not know in which country we are anymore," Kasereka told the AP. "Our authorities have to sit on the negotiation table and find a solution because we want to return to our normal life," she added.
Henry Pacifique, analyst for the Kivu Security Barometer research project, says he remains pessimistic about the outcome of the summit.
"It seems like Angola is trying to force Congo and Rwanda to participate, while both parties continue to make the other the scapegoat to justify future violations of the agreement,” he said.
