M23 Enters Goma in the DRC with Fighting Ongoing (Rwanda)
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Congo River Alliance (AFC), including the potent Tutsi-led M23 insurgents (backed by Rwanda), recently took the towns of Masisi and Minova in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Accordingly, reports of the M23 entering Goma naturally followed.
Reports remain conflicting concerning Goma. Initial news reported that M23 forces had taken Goma. However, Bruno Lemarquis (United Nations Resident Coordinator in the DRC) claimed that fighting is ongoing because the armed forces of the DRC remain in parts of this city.
Lemarquis said, “Fighting is still very much ongoing.”
He continued, “Active zones of combat have spread to all quarters” of the embattled city of Goma.
Voice of America reports, “In early January, M23 rebels broke a ceasefire agreement, launching a large-scale offensive in the east with the support of the Rwandan army. The U.N. says the rebels have made significant territorial gains and are seeking to open a new front in neighboring South Kivu province.”
Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, is calling on the M23 to relinquish recently taken territory – and for Rwandan troops to leave the DRC.
Reuters reports, “The eastern borderlands of the Democratic Republic of Congo are a tinderbox of rebel and militia fiefdoms stemming from two regional wars after Rwanda’s 1994 genocide when Hutu extremists murdered close to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.”
The BBC reports, “After 30 years of conflict, one of the Hutu groups, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which includes some of those responsible for the Rwandan genocide, is still active in eastern DR Congo.”
Rwanda is coming under increasing international pressure – especially with the deaths of peacekeepers. However, the Foreign Ministry of Rwanda is adamant that they have no option.
The Foreign Ministry of Rwanda said, “The fighting close to the Rwandan border continues to present a serious threat to Rwanda’s security and territorial integrity, and necessitates Rwanda’s sustained defensive posture.”
AP News reports, “Goma is a key location in the conflict-battered North Kivu province whose minerals are critical to much of the world’s technology. Rebel groups have long fought over control of eastern Congo’s mineral wealth, and the conflict has often pitted ethnic groups against one another, with civilians forced to flee their homes and seek protection from armed groups.”
Peace talks between the DRC and Rwanda are in disarray.
The Guardian reports, “South Kivu and North Kivu, both provinces in the east of the country, have more than 4.6 million internally displaced people. This year alone, the conflict in eastern DRC has displaced 400,000 people.”
It is hoped that the international community and regional nations can build bridges between the DRC and Rwanda to a level unseen so far.
If the international community only condemns Rwanda, little will change.
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