{"id":2000105709,"date":"2026-03-17T13:35:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T11:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/?p=2000105709"},"modified":"2026-03-17T13:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T11:35:16","slug":"uvira-intense-fighting-resumes-in-ruzizi-plain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/uvira-intense-fighting-resumes-in-ruzizi-plain\/","title":{"rendered":"Uvira: Intense fighting resumes in Ruzizi Plain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This fighting comes just two days after FARDC, Wazalendo, and other allied groups blocked the RN5 road, which connects the city of Uvira to Bukavu, citing security concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFC\/M23 spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, reported that as of 06:00 AM on March 17, 2026, FARDC forces began firing heavy artillery in the Kabunambo area, forcing many residents to flee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjamin Mbonimpa, the Permanent Secretary of AFC\/M23, stated that Kabunambo residents had been peaceful and safe while under AFC\/M23 control, but that the Congolese government chose to threaten their security with artillery strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kanyuka further emphasized that AFC\/M23 is prepared to protect the people of Kabunambo and their property as long as FARDC continues its aggressive actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ruzizi Plain has been a hotspot for intense fighting since early December 2025, triggered by attacks from FARDC forces against areas controlled by AFC\/M23, including the Kamanyola sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFC\/M23 responded with force, gaining control of several territories including the city of Uvira, which was vacated in January 2026 to resume peace talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As FARDC returned to the city, they made it clear they would stabilize the region once they retake all areas controlled by AFC\/M23, including the city of Bukavu, Goma, and Bunagana, which had been captured in December 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ongoing drone strikes by FARDC forces on Minembwe commune and neighboring regions indicate their intent to continue military operations in areas under AFC\/M23 control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early hours of February 24, FARDC launched a drone attack near Rubaya, which killed their former military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Willy Ngoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 11, FARDC conducted another drone strike in the city of Goma, killing three civilians, including French national Karine Buisset, a UNICEF worker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFC\/M23 reported that from the night of March 16 to March 17, FARDC, Burundian forces, FDLR, Wazalendo, and mercenaries launched additional drone strikes on Minembwe and surrounding regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The alliance warned that the Congolese government would be held accountable for the continued bloodshed of innocent civilians under the sielnce of the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Intense fighting has resumed in Ruzizi Plain <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The alliance of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and AFC\/M23 have once again clashed in the Ruzizi Plain of the Uvira territory, following two months of relative calm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000105710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[151,99,69],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000105709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-editors-choice","tag-greatlakesnews","tag-homehighlights","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000105710,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pi.jpg","alt":"","caption":"Intense fighting has resumed in Ruzizi Plain ","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":666,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pi.jpg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pi.jpg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pi.jpg","width":768,"height":511},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pi.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pi.jpg","width":1000,"height":666}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000105709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000105709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000105709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000105711,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000105709\/revisions\/2000105711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000105710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000105709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000105709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000105709"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000105709"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000105709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}