AFC/M23 Fighting Resumes at Walikale's Kisimba Grouping and Spreads to Masisi, Driving New Displacement

Fighting between FARDC-Wazalendo forces and AFC/M23 resumed Sept 4-5 in the Kisimba grouping of Walikale territory, North Kivu, on multiple axes including Mont Tchad, Kasumba hill and Kazumba village (on the Banakindi-Banansuka boundary), after a brief calm around Chanjikiro and Ngambi following late-August bombardments that had already emptied Mindjendje, Mpety and Mera. On Sept 5, Wazalendo fighters separately launched offensives against AFC/M23 positions at Shango and Mahanga villages (Butsike locality, Nyamaboko 1er grouping) in neighboring Masisi territory. No casualty toll had been established for either front as of the reports, and neither FARDC nor M23 issued statements. The combined fighting has driven new arrivals into Kyumba and Langira (Waloa Yungu grouping, Walikale) since Sept 3, with people fleeing Ngululu, Bushaire, Kishee, Bulinda and Luho in Masisi; Kyumba locality chief Bandu Murongani Gédéon said host families lack means to cope and some newcomers are sleeping outdoors, with no official census yet possible as arrivals continue.