Escalating clashes in South Kivu’s highlands are sending a rising flow of wounded to Fizi’s small general hospital, where staff warn they are running out of space and supplies as the conflict expands across remote areas.
Nurses at Fizi’s general hospital rushed a soldier into surgery after he arrived slumped on a motorbike, shot in both legs during clashes in the mountains north of town.
The fighting, largely out of view of urban centres and international mediators, is drawing in more forces and complicating wider stabilisation efforts in eastern DR Congo.
The AFC/M23 rebel coalition invoked the recent battles as justification for a drone strike on Kisangani airport, calling it retaliation for “government aerial attacks” on South Kivu villages.
Congo’s army has not responded to the allegation or commented on the strike.
The hospital, supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross, was treating 115 wounded by the end of January despite having just 25 beds.
“Most of our patients have injuries in their upper or lower limbs,” surgeon Richard Lwandja said.
“They often arrive with wounds that are already infected because of limited facilities on the frontline.”
Casualties continue to grow as medical staff struggle with shortages.
Red Cross nurse Robert Zoubda said, “Roads are often impassable and supplies run out. If this continues, we’ll have to install more tents.”
AFC/M23 made a rapid advance early last year and seized Bukavu in February 2025, later moving south to briefly take Uvira in December before withdrawing under U.S. pressure following the Congo-Rwanda accord signed in June.
The United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda backs the rebels and even exercises influence over their command, a claim Rwanda denies.
The newest fighting is centred on the highlands around Minembwe, where the army has launched an operation against AFC/M23 and the Twirwaneho, a local ally formed by members of the Banyamulenge community.
“The highlands around Uvira are highly strategic: whoever controls them has access to major towns in the lowlands,” said Regan Miviri from the Ebuteli research institute.
“And because the area is so remote, the fighting there draws less attention and less diplomatic pressure.”
He said the government’s priority is preventing the conflict from spreading towards Tanganyika and Katanga, where many of Congo’s most important mining centres are located.
The battles intensified just as Congo and AFC/M23 agreed in Doha to activate a Qatari-mediated ceasefire monitoring mechanism.
A U.N. team is due to deploy to Uvira in the coming days, though it remains unclear whether this will slow the escalating violence.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacu...
Two people were killed and around 40 injured when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday (27 Februrary), a spokesperson for local firefighters sai...
Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), issued a statement on Friday (27 February) calling on Ankara to ...
Colombia’s commerce minister, Diana Marcela Morales, has said she will propose raising tariffs on certain Ecuadorian goods from 30% to 50%, as a tra...
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Friday (27 February) that he had no knowledge of the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and would not have...
The military spokesperson for the M23 rebel movement, Willy Ngoma, was killed in an army drone strike in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo early on Tuesday (24 February), according to a regional diplomat, a senior rebel figure and a Western adviser to the government.
More than 200 people were killed this week when a landslide caused part of the Rubaya coltan mine to collapse in North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials said on Sunday (1 February). The disaster struck a rebel-controlled mining area during the rainy season.
More than 200 people were killed in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this week, according to rebel-appointed provincial authorities who said the final toll is still being verified.
A mountain gorilla has given birth to twins in war‑torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a national park said on Wednesday, calling the event “a major event” for the endangered subspecies.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state has risen to 46, authorities said, with 21 people still reported missing. The storms triggered landslides and widespread flooding, displacing thousands across Juiz de Fora and Uba.
The situation in Cuba was heating up and called for restraint following a deadly incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island, the Kremlin said on Thursday (26 February).
Syria’s economy is showing clear signs of recovery, with economic activity accelerating in recent months, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Two people were killed and around 40 injured when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday (27 Februrary), a spokesperson for local firefighters said.
Colombia’s commerce minister, Diana Marcela Morales, has said she will propose raising tariffs on certain Ecuadorian goods from 30% to 50%, as a trade dispute between the neighbouring countries intensifies.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Friday (27 February) that he had no knowledge of the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and would not have flown on the late convicted sex offender’s plane had he had any inkling of his activities.
Some of Iran's most highly enriched uranium, close to weapons grade, was stored in an underground area of its nuclear site in Isfahan, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report sent to member states on Friday (27 February).
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment