Fighting intensifies in eastern Congo, displacing hundreds

By JUSTIN KABUMBA and SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Fighting has intensified around a town in eastern Congo as a rebel group seeking to expand the territory it controls increased pressure on government troops defending it, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee their homes. By late Thursday it was unclear who controlled Kitchanga in North Kivu province. Videos on social media appeared to show fighters in the M23 group celebrating and claiming they’d captured the town. It was impossible to independently verify their authenticity. Congo for months has accused neighboring Rwanda of supporting the M23 group — whose origins lie in the region’s ethnic fighting — and powerful voices in the West have openly agreed. Rwanda denies backing the group, which is one of dozens operating in mineral-rich eastern Congo.