Aftet two days of heavy fighting with the hutu rebel group Nyatura Domi , the Congolese national defense force managed to take control of the hill of Rugarika in the territory of Rutshuru, North Kivu Province. This was confirmed by Kivu Barometer, an organisation monitoring the security situation in eastern Congo
The hills was being used by the rebels as a base to formulate attacks against the Congolese army.
The Nyatura rebels have been instrumental in offering military support to the Rwandan FDLR rebels, whose presence in the two provinces of Kivu has been at the centre of conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The rebel movement, which is led by self-proclaimed Colonel Mathias Kalume Kenge, have also been part of the inter-ethnic clashes in the region, attacking militia groups that are opposed to the presence of Rwandophone speakers.
At the beginning of the year the national army launched an operation for their hunt, and the rebels were able to be dismantled in the Province of South Kivu; with their last stronghold in Bunja, Kalehe, captured on 14 January 2020.
The rebels then moved northwards to the neighbouring Province of North Kivu , where they had set up based in the hills of Rugarika.
After suffering many lose in the last months, some Nyatura militia chose to surrender, with the hope of being integrated into the national defense force. However due to political influence and poor living conditions at the disarmament centres, others have gone back to rejoin the group.
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