Photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows a checkpoint of Bunagana, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bunagana had been occupied by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group since June, but it will reopen gradually following the deployment of Ugandan army, said Jeff Nyagah, the East African Community (EAC) regional force commander, Thursday. (Xinhua/Alain Uaykani)
by Xinhua writers Alain Uyakani, Shi Yu
BUNAGANA, DR Congo, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Bunagana, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at the border with Uganda, had been occupied by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group since June, but it will reopen gradually following the deployment of Ugandan army, said Jeff Nyagah, the East African Community (EAC) regional force commander, Thursday.
General Nyagah of Kenya made this statement in Bunagana a few hours after co-chairing the reception ceremony for Ugandan military elements. According to him, the Ugandan troops are deployed in the Bunagana area for a regional peacekeeping mission in the DRC.
An agreement between the EAC and the M23 rebel group led to the reopening of Bunagana, an important trade town in Rutshuru Territory, North Kivu Province, allowing the civilians to move freely, he said.
"We have reached an agreement in principle between us and the leaders of the M23 that the road from Bunagana to Goma, the capital of the province (North Kivu) must be reopened. The population must circulate freely, vehicles and goods must also be conveyed without concern," he declared after his meeting of several hours with the leaders of the M23.
For the military authorities of the EAC, a regional bloc, no one should oppose this agreement in principle that will allow the rapid relaxation of the suffering of the population following the crisis caused by the fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels.
In 2022, EAC member countries established a regional force to end the activism of armed groups in eastern DRC, including the M23 rebels. Elements from Kenya and Burundi have already been deployed on the ground in the province of North Kivu.
Apart from the border city of Bunagana, the Ugandan army troops, composed of around 1,000 soldiers, will also deploy in the cities of Kiwanja and Mabenga, according to General Nyagah who insisted that this unit has an essential role in assisting the peace process for the eastern DRC.
With this deployment, Uganda is the third country to join Kenya and Burundi to deploy their troops on the ground in North Kivu as part of the peace mission validated and adopted by the EAC member countries.
The main mission of these forces is to end local and foreign armed groups active in the northeast of the DRC, more particularly the M23 rebels who have occupied several areas in North Kivu since last year.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement, demanding the end of any further advances, and withdrawal from all occupied areas by M23 rebels in the DRC.
The Security Council demands the immediate and full implementation of commitments on the cessation of hostilities, the end of any further advances by the M23, and its withdrawal from all occupied areas as agreed through the African Union-endorsed Luanda Process, read the statement.
The M23 emerged from the rebel group National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), which laid down arms in March 2009, following a peace agreement stipulating that its soldiers would be integrated into the Congolese police and army, while the CNDP's political wing would become an officially acknowledged party.
A faction within the CNDP, however, subsequently denounced the poor implementation of the agreement and developed into the M23, which took its name from the date of the peace agreement, in April 2012. It later occupied Goma in 2012.
After its military defeat in 2013 and barring some minor incidents, the M23 lay dormant for almost a decade until late 2021 when it ramped up attacks again. In addition, the M23, which was deemed as "terrorists" by the DRC government in May 2022, took control of vast parts of Rutshuru territory, in particular, the capture of the Bunagana border town in June 2022.
M23's resurgence has also reignited tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, as Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the M23. Meanwhile, Kigali in return accuses Kinshasa of being in coalition with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, whose members are blamed for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group.
According to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in early March 2023, more than 20,000 people have been displaced due to recent fighting in the eastern DRC. In the past year, more than 800,000 people have been affected by renewed fighting between Congolese forces and the M23. ■
Ugandan soliders are seen in Bunagana, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on March 30, 2023. Bunagana had been occupied by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group since June, but it will reopen gradually following the deployment of Ugandan army, said Jeff Nyagah, the East African Community (EAC) regional force commander, Thursday. (Xinhua/Alain Uaykani)
Photo taken on March 30, 2023 shows a checkpoint of Bunagana, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bunagana had been occupied by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group since June, but it will reopen gradually following the deployment of Ugandan army, said Jeff Nyagah, the East African Community (EAC) regional force commander, Thursday. (Xinhua/Alain Uaykani)
Ugandan soliders are seen in Bunagana, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on March 30, 2023. Bunagana had been occupied by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group since June, but it will reopen gradually following the deployment of Ugandan army, said Jeff Nyagah, the East African Community (EAC) regional force commander, Thursday. (Xinhua/Alain Uaykani)
