Fresh clashes between the army and M23 rebels have erupted in eastern DR Congo, officials said on Sunday, breaking a period of relative calm between the two sides.
The fighting took place on a road linking Goma – the capital of the North Kivu region – with other towns in the east.
A mostly Congolese Tutsi group, the M23 resumed fighting late 2021 after lying dormant for years. It has since captured swathes of territory in North Kivu province, including the strategic town of Bunagana on the Ugandan border in June.
The resurgence of the group has destabilised regional relations in central Africa, with the Democratic Republic of Congo accusing its smaller neighbour Rwanda of backing the militia.
At a UN Security Council briefing on Wednesday, the US called on the Rwandan army to stop supporting the rebels.
The government in Kigali has in the past denied any link.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) tweeted that 500 people had taken refuge in a convent in Ntamugenga, including some who were wounded, and urged the creation of a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians.
MSF emergency coordinator in Rutshuru Benedicte Lecoq told AFP that she was “very worried” about the humanitarian situation in Ntamugenga, explaining that bombs had been striking the village from morning through to the afternoon.