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BUKAVU, DR Congo — Fighting erupted Tuesday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, three days after a call by African leaders for a ceasefire and a brief lull in the conflict.

Rwanda-backed M23 fighters attacked Congolese army positions in South Kivu province at dawn, local and security sources told AFP.

The resurgence comes after east and southern African leaders called on their general staff to propose a plan for implementing an "unconditional" ceasefire by Thursday, in a conflict which has killed thousands and driven vast numbers from their homes.

The M23 has in recent months swiftly seized tracts of territory in mineral-rich east DRC after again taking up arms in late 2021, in a country plagued by numerous conflicts for decades.

The armed group began advancing in South Kivu after taking control of Goma, the capital of neighbouring North Kivu province that borders Rwanda, at the end of last month.

Clashes took place Tuesday near the village of Ihusi, around 70 kilometres from the provincial capital Bukavu and 40 kilometres from the province's airport, according to security sources.

Several local sources reported "detonations of heavy weapons".

Kavumu airport is used by the Congolese army to transport reinforcements of men and equipment to the region and its main military base is located nearby.

Bukavu has been preparing for an M23 offensive for several days, with schools shuttering in the city Friday as residents began to flee and shops closed over fears of an imminent attack.

Banks were still shut in the city Tuesday.

The capture of Bukavu would give full control of Lake Kivu to the M23 and Rwandan troops.

The anti-governmental group, which claims to want to "liberate all of Congo" and oust President Felix Tshisekedi, has attempted in recent days to advance into the highlands overlooking the main road to Bukavu to cut off the DRC army's supply lines.

But Burundian soldiers, who are in east DRC to support the Congolese army, stopped the M23 advances, security sources said.

Around 10,000 Burundian soldiers are deployed in South Kivu, according to a security source.

Bujumbura sent at least one additional army battalion to the area Friday, a security source told AFP.

The M23 has begun setting up its own administration in Goma, a city of one million people, launching recruitment campaigns, including to create a police force.

Cholera

The humanitarian situation in Goma is worsening with no running water in large parts of the city and residents forced to take water from Lake Kivu, where bodies were recovered after the fighting.

An increase in cholera cases has been seen in the region, particularly among people displaced by the conflict, UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said.

The crisis in east DRC is set to be discussed at an African Union meeting in Addis Ababa on Friday.

With the recent intensification of the conflict, calls for de-escalation from the international community have increased amid fears the fighting could lead to a regional war.

But diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict that has lasted for more than three years have so far been unsuccessful.

The DRC has called for "targeted sanctions" against Rwanda but with little effect.

Kinshasa accuses Kigali of wanting to plunder natural resources in the DRC, such as tantalum and tin used in batteries and electronic equipment, as well as gold.

Rwanda denies this, saying it wants to remove armed groups it believes pose a permanent threat to its security, notably the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), created by former Hutu leaders of the 1994 genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda.

Different conflicts and rebellions have plagued the country for more than 30 years.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Palestinians would have no right of return to Gaza under his US takeover plan, describing his proposal in excerpts of an interview released Monday as a "real estate development for the future."

Trump told Fox News Channel's Bret Baier that "I would own it" and that there could be as many as six different sites for Palestinians to live outside Gaza under the plan, which the Arab world and others in the international community have rejected.

"No, they wouldn't, because they're going to have much better housing," Trump said when Baier asked if the Palestinians would have the right to return to the enclave, most of which has been reduced to rubble by Israel's military since October 2023.

"In other words, I'm talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now, it'll be years before you could ever -- it's not habitable."

Trump first revealed the shock Gaza plan during a joint news conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, drawing outrage from Palestinians.

The US president pressed his case for Palestinians to be moved out of Gaza, devastated by the Israel-Hamas war, and for Egypt and Jordan to take them.

In the Fox interview -- which will be broadcast Monday after the first half was screened a day earlier -- Trump said he would build "beautiful communities" for the more than two million Palestinians who live in Gaza.

"Could be five, six, could be two. But we'll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is," added Trump.

"In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent."

 'Unacceptable' 

Trump stunned the world when he announced out of the blue last week that the United States would "take over the Gaza Strip," remove rubble and unexploded bombs and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East."

But while he initially said that Palestinians could be among the "world people" allowed to live there, he has since appeared to harden his position to suggest that they could not.

Netanyahu on Sunday praised Trump's proposal as "revolutionary", striking a triumphant tone in a statement to his cabinet following his return from Washington.

"President Trump came with a completely different, much better vision for Israel," said Netanyahu, who was reportedly only briefed on the plan shortly before Trump's announcement.

The reaction from much of the rest of the world has been one of outrage, with Egypt, Jordan, other Arab nations and the Palestinians all rejecting it out of hand.

The criticism was not limited to the Arab world, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday labeling the plan "a scandal," adding that the forced relocation of Palestinians would be "unacceptable and against international law."

Trump's plan has also threatened to disrupt the fragile six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and the chances of it progressing to a second, more permanent phase.

Trump, however, repeated his insistence that he could persuade Egypt and Jordan to come around.

"I think I could make a deal with Jordan. I think I could make a deal with Egypt. You know, we give them billions and billions of dollars a year," he told Fox. 

Last year, Trump described Gaza as being "like Monaco," while his son-in-law Jared Kushner suggested that Israel could clear Gaza of civilians to unlock "waterfront property."

BUKAVU, DR Congo — Eastern DR Congo appeared calm for a second day Monday, after regional powers appealed for a ceasefire amid fears the fighting could spark a wider conflict.

Pupils in the regional capital Bukavu were returning to school, an AFP journalist saw, after schools shuttered in the city Friday as residents began to flee and shops closed over fears of an imminent attack by M23 fighters.

The Rwanda-backed M23 has in recent months swiftly seized tracts of territory in mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fighting has killed thousands and driven vast numbers from their homes.

The front line was calm at midday Monday after intense fighting Saturday about 60 kilometres from Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, according to local and security sources.

The M23, which claims to protect ethnic Tutsis, began advancing in South Kivu after late last month taking control of Goma, the capital of neighbouring North Kivu province that borders Rwanda.

East and southern African leaders at a summit on Saturday called for an "immediate and unconditional" ceasefire within five days, fearing the conflict would spill over into neighbouring countries.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi took part in the talks, the latter via video link.

The European Union welcomed the announcement by the regional leaders, whose final summit statement made no explicit reference to Rwanda or its part in the conflict. 

Germany remains "deeply concerned about a possible advance of the M23 militia and Rwandan troops" towards Bukavu, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

"This threatens further heavy fighting and indescribable suffering for the people in the region," Sebastian Fischer told reporters, adding Germany was "currently not seeing any signs that the ceasefire is being observed".

'Despicable acts' 

Around 80 Congolese army soldiers went on trial Monday at a military court in Bukavu, accused of "murder, rape, squandering of war munition, fleeing before the enemy, pillaging, revolt and loss of weapons".

"They committed despicable acts against the population, which is contrary to the mission and the trust placed in them, which is the safeguarding of sovereignty and the protection of the population," said Major Colonel Jerome Bayawa, a representative of the public prosecutor at the military court.

Several civilians were killed over the weekend in circumstances that are still unclear in the town of Kavumu and its surroundings.

Kavumu is the last barrier before Bukavu and some 30 kilometres from the city. 

The M23 has begun setting up its own administration in Goma, a city of one million people, launching recruitment campaigns, including to create a police force.

Thousands of people displaced by the fighting in North Kivu had found refuge in Goma until the city was captured.

But Monday, the armed group issued a 72-hour warning for any remaining displaced people to leave, several camp officials told AFP.

The UN Human Rights Council Friday launched an investigation into alleged violations and abuses committed in the deadly clashes.

Rwanda denies supporting the M23 militarily and accuses the DRC of sheltering the FDLR, an armed group created by ethnic Hutus who massacred Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

BUCHAREST — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation on Monday after a procedure to impeach him was launched and as anger boils over last year's cancelled presidential vote.

The country's top court pulled presidential elections slated for December after claims of Russian meddling and the first-round victory of a previously little-known, far-right candidate.

Pressure had been growing on pro-European Iohannis, who had said he would remain in office until his successor was elected at a new vote in May.

Lawmakers on Monday launched a procedure to impeach Iohannis, following two previous attempts by the opposition to start the process.

"In order to spare Romania and the Romanian citizens from crisis... I resign from the office of president of Romania," Iohannis said, adding that he would officially stand down on Wednesday.

"In a few days, the Romanian Parliament will vote on my suspension and Romania will go into crisis... This whole endeavour will have effects internally and unfortunately also externally," he added in his address.

He insisted he had "never violated the constitution".

'Victory'

Romania's far right welcomed Iohannis's resignation and hundreds of supporters gathered in Bucharest for a rally that saw clashes with police.

Calin Georgescu, who won the first round of presidential elections before the vote was annulled, said Iohannis's resignation was a "victory for the people of Romania".

"Now, it's time to return to 'rule of law' - resume 2nd round of elections!" he wrote on X.

The leader of the far-right AUR party, George Simion, also hailed what he said was the people's "victory".

Romania's far right gained an unprecedented third of the votes in December parliamentary elections due to mounting anger over soaring inflation and fears over Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine.

Last month, tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets in a wave of protests called by the far right criticising the vote cancellation, with some demanding for Iohannis to resign.

Senate president and liberal leader Ilie Bolojan, 55, is expected to replace Iohannis.

Cancellations of elections are rare in the EU and the postponement plunged the eastern European country into crisis, with Georgescu denouncing the annulment as a "formalised coup d'etat".

A fresh first round of presidential elections will now take place on May 4, with a second on May 18 if no first-round candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote.

Iohannis, 65, has been Romania's president since 2014 and navigated several political crises in the past.

Romania's constitutional court cancelled the elections after intelligence documents declassified by the president's office listed "aggressive Russian hybrid actions", including cyberattacks.

The documents also detailed the massive promotion of Georgescu on social media in the run-up to the vote.

Georgescu — a past admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a NATO critic who has recently reframed himself as "ultra pro" US President-elect Donald Trump — has denied any links to Moscow.

STOCKHOLM — The identity of the suspected gunman in Sweden's worst ever mass shooting has been confirmed, Swedish prosecutors said on Monday without naming the suspect.

On Tuesday of last week, a 35-year-old man — identified as Rickard Andersson by Swedish media — entered an education centre for young adults and opened fire, killing 10 people before apparently turning the gun on himself.

Described as an unemployed recluse with psychological problems, he is thought to have acted alone in the massacre at Campus Risbergska in the town of Orebro, 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Stockholm.

"The prosecutor has handed over the investigation of the school shooting in Orebro to the police," the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement, explaining that since the suspect was deceased the investigation did not need to be led by a prosecutor.

The authority did not name the suspect, but speaking to newspaper Expressen, prosecutor Elisabeth Anderson confirmed that it was Rickard Andersson.

AFP has not be able to reach Elisabeth Anderson.

Six days after the massacre, police are still trying to establish a clear motive for the shooting.

The man had been enrolled at the school in the past but had not attended classes there since 2021, according to media reports.

Police have not disclosed the nationalities of the victims — seven women and three men aged 28 to 68 residing in Orebro — but told AFP last week that they were of "multiple nationalities".

According to broadcaster SVT, a majority of the victims had a foreign background.

"They came from different parts of the world and had different dreams," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a speech on Sunday.

"They were at school to lay the foundations for a future that has now been taken away from them."

Kristersson urged people not to speculate on the attacker's motives, but stressed that he understood the concerns of "people of foreign origin who show a particular sense of vulnerability".

Syria's embassy in Stockholm has expressed condolences to two Syrian families, without giving details.

Bosnia's foreign ministry said one of its nationals was among the dead, while another had been wounded.

MOSCOW — Russia said on Sunday that its forces had captured the eastern Ukrainian village of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, near the strategic military hub of Chasiv Yar that Moscow is attempting to seize.

There is intensive fighting in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar, one of the last remaining urban areas blocking Russia from advancing further into the region, according to Russian military bloggers.

The Russian defence ministry said in a daily briefing that “as a result of decisive attack actions, the South group of troops liberated the settlement of Orekhovo-Vasilevka in the Donetsk region”, using the Russian name for the village.

Orikhovo-Vasylivka is located around 10 kilometres north of Chasiv Yar and near the road to the Ukraine-held city of Sloviansk.

The latest advance comes as Russian troops are pushing further into the Donetsk region. They claimed the key mining town of Toretsk on Friday, while Ukraine denies Moscow troops are in full control there.

Ukraine’s Khortytsia army unit, which is fighting in the area, said on Sunday that it had repelled attacks in the areas of Chasiv Yar and Toretsk and shot down a Russian military jet near Toretsk.

Ukraine’s air force said that overnight Russia had attacked six regions with 151 drones, of which it shot down 70 while a further 74 were lost “without negative consequences”.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had destroyed 35 Ukrainian drones overnight and one in the northwestern Leningrad region on Sunday morning.