M23 rebels today occupied Isasa, a community on the border with Ugandain the eastern People’s Republic of Congowhere a ceasefire was to be implemented, local sources said.

“Isasa passed without resistance under her control M23. The rebels are many and well-equipped,” while Congolese police in the town have fled to Uganda, Romy Sawasawa, the president of Isasa’s civil society, told AFP.

The rebels called an assembly and asked residents to “continue their activities freely,” he added. They also invited the Mai-Mai (pro-government paramilitary forces) to join them and the FDLR (Hutu rebels from Rwanda) to return home, according to one resident, Yasini Mambo. M23 also asked police officers who left for Uganda to return to the city.

The March 23 Movement (M23) is a Tutsi guerrilla organization supported by Rwanda. As of late 2021, it has occupied large areas in the North Kivu province of DR Congo. Nyamilima, a large town near Isasa, fell unarmed to the rebels on Saturday. Isasa is located on the border with Uganda, to the south of Lake Edward and is about 200 kilometers north-east of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

Last Tuesday the Angola, which mediated between the DR Congo army and M23, had announced that a cease-fire agreement had been reached that was to take effect today. When asked by AFP, a source close to DR Congo’s security services confirmed the capture of Isasa by the rebels. “The tales of a truce are a farce,” he added.

Eastern DR Congo, a mineral-rich region, has been plagued by conflict between local and foreign armed groups for 30 years.