Clashes between the Congolese military and a rebel group have left at least 15 people dead, the military and a human rights organization said Tuesday, according to dpa. Thirteen members of the Mai Mai militant group, which has installed itself in the eastern Congo, were killed in the city of Biakato in the South Kivu region, along with two soldiers. Many others were injured. The Mai Mai group, made up of between 5,000 and 7,000 predominantly Hutu fighters, was formed two decades ago to defend local territory against other armed groups allied with neighbouring Rwanda. Dozens of armed groups have remained active in the area since the 1996-2003 Congo wars, sparked by more than 1 million Rwandans flooding into the region after the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
