There is no change on the Congo front.
The war is in progress - equal progress.
The political alliance that the separatist March 23 movement recently signed with key opposition forces in eastern Congo has not yet strengthened its tactical capabilities. In the second half of October the situation remained without major changes, and the fighting continued as usual.
Between October 15 and 25, the DRC army and militias loyal to it carried out several successful incursions in northern Kivu to the suburbs of Goma, the capital of the separatists. The main target, as months before, remains the mining town of Rubaya.
In South Kivu, in the region of Bukavu - the "capital of the south" of the separatists - the situation for them was no better. Since October 20, several clashes with pro-government militias have taken place in the vicinity of the city, while at the same time the DRC army's attempts to advance from the southwest have intensified.
Events developed much more dynamically near Minembwe, the southernmost stronghold of the March 23 movement. Throughout the second half of October, fierce battles took place with significant changes in the front line, which, however, did not change the overall picture due to the region's distance from the "political" centers of struggle.
While the authorities' main resources were invested in fighting the "movement", radical Islamists continued to operate with impunity in Ituri province. In the city of Mambasa and the nearby villages, armed men launched a new phase of terrorism against Christians. From mid-October to early November, dozens of people died.
In a word, a "radical turning point" in the Congo war did not occur in October. The separatists hold their positions even under pressure from all directions at once, and the authorities will often have to choose between a further accumulation of forces in Kibo and the transfer of some of the forces to Itori.
- where politics is hotter than the equator.
Support us.