In the eastern democratic republic of Congo (DR Congo) fresh fighting has erupted days after the peace deal was signed in washington DC.
The development forced hundreds of people to flee across the border.
Thursday’s agreement was meant to stabilisers the resource-rich east but it has had little visible effect on the ground so far, in an area plagued by conflict for 30 years.
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Fighters from the anti-government armed group M23 battled on Friday in South Kivu province with the Congolese army, backed by thousands of Burundian soldiers deployed alongside it.
Both sides are fighting for control of the border town of Kamanyola — where the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi meet. M23 are currently in control there.
Detonations that shook buildings echoed throughout the morning near Kamanyola, an AFP journalist reported in Bugarama, a border post on the Rwandan side some two kilometres (1.3 miles) away.
On Friday, the M23 accused the Burundian army of firing “without interruption” into the DRC.
A Burundian military source told AFP they were reinforcing their positions to ensure they were not overrun by M23 fighters and their Rwandan backers.
“The fighting is intensifying,” the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There is a real risk the situation escalates.
“We are bringing reinforcements to the front because this is a red line for Burundi.”
The source said his country could not accept it if “the terrorists of M23 and their Rwandan backers reach Uvira”, a city in DRC less than 30 kilometres from the Burundian capital Bujumbura.