M23 group seizes key town in eastern DR Congo: security sources

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has taken control of the key mining hub of Walikale in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the latest territory seized in its advance in the country's east, security and local sources said Thursday.

The seizure of the town of around 60,000 people marks the farthest west the anti-government group has advanced into the DRC's interior since it emerged in 2012.

"Walikale-centre is occupied by the M23... We retreated to avoid human losses," an officer in DRC's military (FARDC) told AFP, saying its forces were now around 30 kilometres (20 miles) away in Mubi.

A separate security force confirmed the seizure and also said fighting took place in Mubi on Wednesday.

The offensive had already caused the mining group Alphamin earlier this month to evacuate its employees and halt operations at its Bisie mine for the tin ore cassiterite, the world's third largest, in the Walikale District of North Kivu Province.

The region is also home to several gold mines.

The M23 has waged a lightning push over the last few months in the mineral-rich eastern DRC, driving the Congolese army out of much of North and South Kivu provinces and raising fears of a wider regional war.

The DR Congo government has accused Rwanda of backing M23 in order to seize valuable mineral resources in the east.

Rwanda denies providing the M23 with military support, but a UN experts' report found Rwanda maintains around 4,000 troops in the DRC's east to assist the armed group.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame held surprise talks in Doha this week, later expressing their support for a ceasefire.

But the terms of any truce remain unclear, with mediator Qatar saying further negotiations were necessary.