Fighting between the M23 rebel fighters and the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) has resumed in the eastern town of Sake, North Province as the former launches a new attempt to take of the town this Wednesday morning.
Local sources reveal that the clashes are taking place on several hills overlooking the the strategic city of Sake in Masisi territory, about 20km away from Goma, where the M23 launched the assault on the FARDC who are being backed by the local armed group called the Wazalendo.
“It was at 3 a.m. that clashes resumed on the Sake axis. It was the rebels who started the hostilities. They would like to get Sake back, from Kanve. Kanve is located on the RN2 which leads to Bukavu. The resistance fighters managed to push the rebels back to Vunano. For the time being, clashes are reported on the Lutobogo side and in the vicinity of three Sake branches. The city of Sake is still quiet, despite the gunfire. So, for the moment, it’s terrible at the level of Lutobogo, Vunano and around the antennas of Sake,” local sources revealed.
The government and military sources have not yet to issue a statement over this umpteenth attempt by the M23 to take control of the city of Sake.
Detonations of heavy and light weapons can, however, be heard in the heart of the city of Sake, raising fears of the tragic events that occurred last Friday in camps for displaced people of Mugunga and Lac Vert neighborhoods in Goma.
On Friday, May 3rd, M23 rebels dropped several bombs on sites of displaced people in western Goma, causing 18 deaths and 32 wounded, according to the updated toll released by OCHA.
The rebels are still positioned on the Sake-Mushaki-Masisi centre axis, passing through the mining town of Rubaya, which they have recently taken control of as well as the Sake-Kitshanga-Mweso, Sake-Bweremana-Minova, and the neighbouring province of South Kivu.
The occupation of all these areas and many others in the territories of Nyiragongo and Rutshuru by the M23 is suffocating the city of Goma as almost all food supply routes and several other food products are closed.
