(Reuters) -Representatives of Congo’s powerful Catholic church met on Wednesday with a rebel leader whose Rwandan-backed M23 forces last month seized Goma, the biggest city in the country’s east, and have continued advancing south.
The meeting in Goma comes as the rebel leader, Corneille Nangaa, tries to assert himself as the public face of politicians and rebel groups opposing Democratic Republic of Congo’s president, Felix Tshisekedi.
Nangaa’s Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), which sees M23 as its military wing, has controlled Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, since late January and on Tuesday threatened to renew its advance on Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.
Two United Nations sources and South Kivu’s provincial governor said on Wednesday that M23 now controlled the town of Ihusi, west of Lake Kivu between Goma and Bukavu.
“We have been informed that Ihusi has been taken by the enemies,” Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki said, adding that Congolese forces were staging a counter-attack.
Bukavu and the strategic town of Kavumu, 35 km to the north, where the airport is located, remain under the control of Congo’s army, which has the support of pro-government militia and troops from neighbouring Burundi.
A Catholic official who did not wish to be identified said over the weekend that the aim of meeting Nangaa was in part to push for a format for dialogue acceptable to all parties.
After the meeting, Donatien Nshole, secretary-general of the Catholic bishops conference, said church officials pushed for the reopening of Goma’s airport and port and requested a ceasefire.
Tshisekedi’s office said on X on Wednesday that the president had separately met various religious leaders and was open to the Catholic church’s outreach, provided it was “inclusive”.
REGIONAL WAR AT STAKE
M23’s stop-start advance and the possibility of a battle for Bukavu have stoked fears of a broader conflict with armies from regional countries pitted against each other, as seen in previous wars between 1996 and 2003.
Rwanda has been accused by Congo, the United Nations and several Western countries of supporting the rebels with thousands of its own troops and weapons.
Rwanda has neither confirmed nor denied that its troops are operating across the border, but says it is acting in self-defence.
Rwandan carrier RwandAir said on Wednesday it had rerouted affected flight paths after Congo closed its airspace to Rwanda-registered aircraft.
The resurgence of the conflict in eastern Congo has killed thousands of people since early 2022 and displaced more than 1 million.
Tentative calm has returned to Goma, the U.N. said on Tuesday, though thousands of uprooted civilians were leaving displacement camps around the city.
M23, who have sought to restore order and show they can govern, said on Sunday that camps for displaced people should be vacated within 72 hours. They later clarified that such moves should be voluntary.
(Additional reporting by Sonia Rolley; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Sofia Christensen and Leslie Adler)
