Democratic Republic of Congo army accuses M23 rebels of violating cease-fire

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s military accused M23 rebels on Monday of violating a recent cease-fire after fighting erupted in the country’s east.

On July 30, Angola’s president’s office announced that a ministerial meeting on the security and peace situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo held in the Angolan capital Luanda agreed on a new cease-fire from Aug. 4.

In a statement, the military said the rebels had launched attacks on army positions in Kikubo in Lubero territory, North Kivu province near the border with Uganda on Sunday.

“The armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo reiterate that they consider this belligerent behavior as yet another violation of the cease-fire established by the Luanda process,” said a Congolese army spokesperson, Lieut. Col. Ndjike Kaiko Guillaume.

He said the army “will refer these violations to the relevant verification mechanism in order to ensure accountability.”

On Sunday, the rebels in a statement claimed that Congolese army aircraft had flown over their occupied areas of Lubero and Rutshuru, also describing it as “a blatant violation of the cease-fire and an inadmissible provocation.”

But the army dismissed the claim as an attempt by the rebels “to cover up their multiple violations of the cease-fire.”

Residents and civil society members said relative calm had returned on Monday, though fears remained.

“The situation remains unpredictable. As both sides continue to reinforce their positions, it raises fears of renewed hostilities, which puts pressure on humanitarian needs and causes fresh displacement of civilians,” Jean-Claude Kawaya, a member of the Nyiragongo civil society group, told Anadolu.

The foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Angola will meet again in September to discuss a peace plan for eastern Congo.

After being dormant for roughly a decade, the M23 rebel group resumed fighting in 2021.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and western countries accuse Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, a claim Kigali consistently denies.

The M23, an ethnic Tutsi-led rebel group, was formed in 2012. The group claims to defend Tutsi interests against ethnic Hutu militias whose leaders are linked to the genocide of Tutsi in 1994 in Rwanda. The Tutsi make up some 1%-2% of Congo’s population.