The M23, with alleged ties to Rwanda, detonated explosives in North Kivu’s Sake city 27 kilometers (16 miles) from Goma, residents said as they hurried from fighting between the rebels and security forces. Our correspondent said the rebels had cut off the road which connects the city of Goma to the province of South Kivu via Minova. At least 70% of Sake residents have fled to Goma as rebels continue to advance, said civil society leader Leopold Muisha, who reported four deaths and 25 people injured in recent days. “The rebels are getting closer and closer to Sake (and) the population no longer feels safe,” Muisha said. He accuses neighboring Rwanda of providing military support to the M23 rebels, a claim supported by the United Nations experts but denied by Rwanda.
