Mass Displacement in DR Congo after M23 Rebels Captured Walikale-Centre
Calm returned to the area on March 18, but the town remains heavily militarised with civilians rarely seen in the streets. However, the rebels returned the following day to finally capture the town.
Scores of people have left Lubutu territory for protected zones following the capture of Walikale-Centre by the Alliance Fleuve Congo AFC/M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). Most displaced persons leaving Lubutu are heading to Maniema and Tshopo provinces.
Walikale-Centre is situated 202 kilometres from Lubutu.
The massive displacement started when people from the Walikale highway, Mubi, Birue, and Osso on the border between North Kivu and Maniema provinces, flooded Lubutu Centre.
“Honestly, the disquiet here is at its zenith, the whole territory is being deserted,” confirmed a local hospital source.
Some are heading towards Kindu, the chief town of Maniema, which is over 400 kilometres from Kinshasa. Others are going to the Maiko Park around Lubutu centre and Lowa, 150 kilometres from Ubundu.
“We are alone here now. I cannot call the names of peoples who have fled,” another local said.
Some civil society sources in the country told HumAngle that schools and churches have been sheltering internally displaced people from North Kivu. Walikale-Centre came under the control of the AFC/M23 on Wednesday, March 19, after intense fighting. The rebels’ capture of Walikale-Centre has sent shock waves to Kisangani, situated 444 kilometres away, as inhabitants there fear the city might be the next to fall to the rebels.
The Congolese army and its Wazalendo allies earlier prevented the M23 rebels and the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) from attacking the country’s Walikale Centre. On March 17, the rebels were pushed back to Mpofi, a locality 52 kilometres from the centre.
The soldiers and their allies halted the rebel advance, thanks to military reinforcement from Bunia in Ituri province. The rebels had gone close enough to capture Mutakato before they were halted.
Calm returned to the area on March 18, but the town remains heavily militarised with civilians rarely seen in the streets. However, the rebels returned the following day to finally capture the town.
Scores of people have fled Lubutu territory for safer zones after the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC)/M23 rebels captured Walikale-Centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Most of these displaced individuals are heading towards Maniema and Tshopo provinces, indicating a massive displacement movement prompted by the rebels' takeover.
The capture of Walikale-Centre, previously thwarted by the Congolese army with assistance from their allies, has heightened fear among surrounding regions, such as Kisangani, that they may also become targets.
Temporary calm was restored briefly before the rebels secured control, leading to significant militarization of the area, yet with a stark absence of civilians. Schools and churches have offered shelter to many internally displaced people, contributing to the strain on local resources.
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