M23 rebels in Congo attack a military base in the country’s east.

After days of fighting with M23 rebels making advances in the region, Congo’s army defended a major military camp in the country’s east on Thursday.

Clashes continued at the Rumangabo base in North Kivu province’s Rutshuru area, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the provincial capital, Goma.

“There is no cease-fire. “The fighting is still going on on the same fronts as yesterday,” said deputy army spokesman Gen. Sylvain Ekenge.

Gunshots have been heard since early in the morning, according to Manouvo Nguka, who lives in Rumangabo, where the base is located.

“The army is attempting to retake complete control of Rumangabo,” he told The Associated Press.

He added that the situation has been critical since Wednesday night.

“The loyalist army and the M23 rebels exchanged fire for more than an hour,” he said.

The army previously confirmed that the rebels also attacked its positions in Nyragongo and Rutshuru.

According to a statement from military spokesman Lt. Gen. Constant Ndima, the rebels fired more than 20 shells on Rumangabo, Natale, near the Congolese Institute for Conservation of Nature, and the surrounding area on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The M23 is primarily an ethnic Tutsi group that began in 2012 and seized control of Goma, a city of over one million people, for nearly a month. Before a 2013 peace agreement, UN forces and the Congolese army drove the M23 out of Goma, and many of the rebels fled to Rwanda and Uganda. Rwanda and Uganda both deny supporting M23.

The group has recently resurfaced in eastern Congo, with increased attacks. It accuses the Congolese government of failing to keep its promises to integrate rebel fighters into the national army.

“Knowing the Congolese government’s position on the process of demobilization and disarmament, it is clear that they act in this manner because the Congolese head of state has been clear: there is no question of reintegrating the rebels into the army,” said Christian Ntumba, a Congo political analyst.

“The people are paying the price… “Our brothers and sisters in the east are tired of repeating this situation,” Ntumba said, urging Congo’s government to increase diplomacy in order to persuade the international community to take the fighting in eastern Congo more seriously. Thousands of people have been displaced as a result of the recent fighting, and the east is home to a slew of armed groups vying for control of the mineral-rich region.

He also stated that Congo should put more pressure on neighboring Rwanda, which he claims is supporting the rebels. Rwanda has been accused by the government of collaborating with M23 rebels.

“Suspicions are growing about M23 receiving support from Rwanda,” said Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya.

Congo’s Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula directly blamed Rwanda in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, where African foreign ministers are meeting ahead of two African Union summits this weekend.

“Rwanda attacked the Rumangabo camp, an important military base of the Congolese armed forces,” he said emphatically.

Rwanda has denied allegations of supporting Congolese rebels.

Rwanda’s military accused neighboring Congolese forces earlier this week of injuring several civilians in cross-border shelling and asked regional monitors to investigate.

The United Nations mission in Congo’s Deputy Force Commander, Gen. Benoit Chavanat, stated that its forces are assisting the Congolese army in its fight against M23. He told the United Nations-backed Radio Okapi that joint forces are stabilizing the situation in Tchanzu, Runyonyi, and Bunagana.

According to Congolese authorities, Pope Francis will visit Congo in early July, including a stop in Goma to celebrate Mass and meet with war victims. However, when asked on Thursday whether the current fighting would cause the pope to change his plans, the Vatican did not respond immediately.