Rwanda-backed M23 rebels battle pro-government fighters in North Kivu and South Kivu province after regional mediators hold truce talks.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and pro-government fighters have clashed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo despite pressure from regional mediators to halt the fighting.
The rebels battled pro-government fighters known as Wazalendo on Tuesday in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, a day after 24 members of two regional blocs – the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community – held virtual talks aimed at reviving faltering ceasefire initiatives.
The M23’s swift advance since January has seen it take eastern Congo’s two largest cities – Goma and Bukavu – resulting in thousands of deaths and forcing hundreds of thousands more from their homes.
On Monday, the conflict flared up again, with rebels reneging on a pledge to withdraw from the strategic town of Walikale in North Kivu province.
Muhindo Tafuteni, a local civil society activist, told the news agency Reuters that clashes in North Kivu were taking place on Tuesday near the banks of Lake Edward, which straddles the border between Congo and Uganda.
In South Kivu, fighting reportedly took place in several towns north of the provincial capital, Bukavu, which M23 captured in February.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance of rebel groups that includes the M23, pledged to continue fighting “like people who got nothing to lose in order to secure the future of our country”.
The rebel leader also rejected the outcome of last week’s meeting between Congolese and Rwandan leaders in Qatar, saying any moves to achieve peace without his group’s involvement would fail.
“Anything regarding us which are done without us, it’s against us,” Nangaa told The Associated Press news agency.
Regional peacemakers
Leaders from the EAC and the SADC met on Monday to advance a ceasefire plan aimed at ending the conflict, which is rooted in the long fallout from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and competition for control of mineral riches.
Congo’s mineral resources are estimated to be worth $24 trillion and are critical to much of the world’s technology.
In a statement afterwards, they said they had appointed five former heads of state to facilitate the peace process.
The appointees are Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo, South Africa’s Kgalema Motlanthe, Ethiopia’s Sahle-Work Zewde, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta and Central African Republic’s Catherine Samba Panza.
Congo’s presidency said the new panel would name a mediator to replace Angolan President Joao Lourenco, who withdrew from the role on Monday following years of efforts to ease tensions between Rwanda and the DRC.
A meeting had previously been scheduled in Angola after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi dropped his longstanding refusal to negotiate with M23, but the rebels withdrew in protest at new European Union sanctions.
Tensions with Burundi
As fighting continues in DRC, President Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, whose troops have fought in support of DRC’s army against M23, alleged that Rwanda had a plan to attack Burundi.
Burundi says it believes Rwanda is supporting the resurgent Red Tabara rebel group, claiming that it is aimed at destabilising the country in the same way M23 has sown mayhem in the DRC.
“They would say it’s an internal problem when it’s Rwanda [who is] the problem,” Ndayishimiye said in an interview with the BBC. “Burundians will not accept to be killed as Congolese are being killed. Burundian people are fighters.”
Rwanda’s government spokesperson Yolande Makolo expressed surprise at Ndayishimiye’s comments, saying that “Rwandan and Burundian defence and security institutions” had been meeting “to discuss how to secure our common borders”.