UPDATE 1-DR Congo army says it takes back Kalembe from M23, rebels deny

(Adds rebel comment in paragraph 1,4; Angola comment, 7)

KINSHASA, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo’s army on Tuesday said it had taken back the eastern town of Kalembe, a day after it was seized by M23 rebels, but rebels said they still controlled the town.

Kalembe, a small town in Walikale territory in militia-plagued North Kivu, came under M23 control on Sunday morning when rebels seized it from Congolese armed forces and pro-government armed groups.

The Tutsi-led M23 group has been waging a renewed insurgency in the central African country’s east since 2022. Congo and the United Nations accuse neighbouring Rwanda of backing the group with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this.

Congo army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said Kalembe had been taken back on Monday. But Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), which includes M23, said rebels were still in control.

Ekenge said fighting was ongoing between the pro-government militia and the M23 in areas that were not under army control.

Military troops were flown in on helicopters on Monday morning to deal with the situation, he said.

The M23’s incursion into Kalembe violated an Angola-mediated ceasefire agreed in August, Angola’s government said on Monday.

An official from Walikale territory, Kabaki Alimasi, confirmed the army had taken the town back but said fighting continued nearby.

“The M23 are not far,” he said. “We can hear gunfire, the population that fled has not yet returned.”

The insurgency in Congo’s mineral-rich east has deepened a humanitarian crisis in North Kivu, where around 2.6 million people were displaced as of end-September, according to the United Nations.

(Reporting by Ange Kasongo Writing by Sofia Christensen Editing by Christina Fincher and Ros Russell)

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