Civilians clash with U.N. peacekeepers near Goma
Civilians loot from the burnt wreckage of a truck after they blocked and clash with a convoy of United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) peacekeepers in Munigi near Goma in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo February 8, 2023. Reuters

A town just west of the major east Congo city of Goma appeared under army control on Thursday hours after hundreds of residents fled an outbreak of gunfire for fear of an advance by M23 rebels, according to a Reuters reporter in the area.

Hundreds of people had left Sake earlier in the day, lugging their belongings along a 15-kilometre (9-mile) stretch of road to Goma, worried they might get caught up in fighting between the army and M23. The government accuses M23 of mass atrocities against civilians over the past year, something it denies.

But later on Thursday soldiers accompanied a Reuters reporter to the city where residents were found going about their daily activities after the morning panic.

Residents said the army had the town under control. Two residents said the shots they heard were from soldiers firing in the air after going off duty.

"The population panicked this morning at the bad behaviour of our soldiers who had just been relieved. They fired in the air and that scared the population very much," said teacher Jospin Simwerayi, a Sake resident.

The army did not comment on why the shots were fired. The M23 did not respond to requests for comment. According to Kivu Security Tracker, which maps unrest in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the army and the M23 have been clashing north of Sake since Monday.

The Tutsi-led M23 staged a comeback last year after they were chased into neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda in 2013. The fighting has uprooted tens of thousands of civilians in Congo's restive east despite military efforts to push back M23.

Battles broke out in November around Kibumba, an area 20 kilometres north of Goma that rebels were meant to have left a month later as part of a ceasefire brokered by East African regional leaders.

But there has been evidence of M23 movements in places from which they were meant to withdraw as well as signs of advances in other areas, suggesting the offensive is ongoing. The group has denied this.

Congolese demonstrators attend a protest against the East African Community (EAC), in Goma
Congolese demonstrators attend a protest against the East African Community (EAC), which set up a regional military force last year to end rebel-driven unrest, in Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo February 6, 2023. Reuters
Hundreds flee gunshots on the outskirts of Goma
Civilians carry their belongings as they flee after heavy gunfire that raised fears of M23 rebels advancing along a road from Sake near Goma in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo February 9, 2023. Reuters