The Congolese army on Thursday accused the M23 rebels and Rwanda of violating a humanitarian ceasefire announced by the United States last week.
The two-week ceasefire, in force since July 5, aimed to allow humanitarian workers to access conflict zones in the North Kivu province where millions of people are experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Only a week in, there have been reports of continued violence in Masisi territory near Goma, the capital of North Kivu, according to the United Nations.
The conflict in the region has intensified this year, displacing hundreds of thousands in an attempt to flee rebels.
Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group and on Thursday denounced what it called “the Kigali regime’s failure to respect the truce […] thus denying them access to humanitarian aid.”
The years-long conflict is highly complex, and while M23 is the most active, there are over 120 armed groups fighting over the region’s minerals.
More than 7 million people are now displaced across the east of the DRC. This year alone, at least 416 violent attacks have left 1,467 civilians dead, half of whom were in North Kivu, according to non-profit ACLED.