Religious services were cut short Sunday in villages in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo by the irruption of M23 rebels who remain on the offensive, despite calls to lay down their arms. The front lines had remained calm on Saturday, suggesting calls to cease fire may have been heard. But the lull only lasted a day.
“We were at church for worship and the M23 came in firing a lot of shots“, declared to AFP by telephone a pastor from Katwiguru, an agglomeration of the territory of Rutshuru located on the north-eastern front of the fighting between the Congolese army and the “March 23 Movement“.
According to Jean Bosco Bahati, a local civil society leader, the rebels have taken over several villages in the region, some 35 km from Ishasha, a town bordering Uganda not far from Lake Edward. “The population is in disarray“, he testified. According to another resident, the army retreated to the north.
The scenario repeats itself 20 years later
Further south, fighting also resumed on Sunday morning about 20 km north of the large city of Goma, capital of North Kivu province, at Kibumba, which has marked the front line for several days. south.
“Since this morning the fights are raging” in the area, said a resident. “Three officers including a colonel have just been injured in the fighting“, said a security source on condition of anonymity.
Twenty years ago to the day, on November 20, 2002, the M23 seized the town of Goma, which it occupied for about ten days before withdrawing and being defeated the following year.
A meeting between Ruto and Tshisekedi in Kinshasa
Reproaching Kinshasa for not having respected commitments on the demobilization and reintegration of its combatants, the Tutsi movement took up arms again at the end of last year and has since extended its territory.
Its resurgence has caused renewed tension between the DRC and Rwanda, accused of supporting this rebellion. Kigali contests, accusing in return Kinshasa of collusion with Rwandan Hutu rebels established in DR Congo since the genocide of the Tutsi in 1994 in Rwanda. Several diplomatic initiatives have been launched to try to overcome the crisis.
Kenyan President William Ruto is due to meet in Kinshasa on Monday with his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi. His visit follows that of his predecessor, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, now the Community of East African States (EAC) Facilitator for the DRC, who came to prepare a new session of peace talks scheduled for the next few days in Nairobi.
Towards the creation of a regional coalition?
On Friday evening, Uhuru Kenyatta said Rwandan President Paul Kagame had joined calls for the M23 rebels to stop fighting and withdraw from the territories they occupy.
The EAC has also decided to create a regional force to try to bring peace to the east of the DRC, plagued for nearly thirty years by violence from multiple armed groups, including the M23.
Kenya is expected to contribute 900 men to this force, the first of whom have arrived in Goma, where the force’s headquarters are located. Another diplomatic initiative is led in parallel by the Angolan Head of State João Lourenço, who plans a new meeting between the Congolese and Rwandan presidents Thursday in Luanda.