Masisi fighting points to renewed pressure in Osso Banyungu

Fresh fighting in Masisi’s Osso Banyungu sector is pointing to renewed pressure on an already unstable front in North Kivu, after Actualite.cd reported clashes on Sunday between AFC/M23 rebels and Wazalendo fighters near Kazinga and Ngululu. The report said the violence erupted early in the day and quickly deepened fears among civilians in surrounding areas.

The latest confrontation fits into a broader pattern of repeated fighting around Kazinga, a locality that has remained contested in recent weeks. On March 23, it was reported that an AFC/M23 attack in Kazinga had been repelled by the army and Wazalendo fighters, while a day later the outlet described only a fragile calm in the same area after heavy clashes.

Those earlier developments suggest the March 29 violence is less an isolated flare-up than part of a continuing struggle for control in Osso Banyungu.

The renewed fighting also comes as concern is rising more broadly over eastern DRC, where the United Nations has warned of escalating violence, the use of heavy weapons and growing risks to civilians across North and South Kivu. An AP report on the UN warning underlines how local clashes such as those in Masisi continue to feed a wider regional security crisis.

For now, the immediate next step to watch is whether the fighting around Kazinga and nearby positions produces a new shift in territorial control or another short-lived lull before further combat. A conflict review by Critical Threats similarly noted that Kazinga has sat on a contested axis west of Masisi town, reinforcing its importance in the wider military picture.