Soldiers are seen in the territory of Masisi on Jan. 8, 2023. The plot thickens in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23) are still active in the northeastern North Kivu province, despite their recent withdrawal from several captured villages. (Photo by Alain Uaykani/Xinhua)
GOMA, DR Congo, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The plot thickens in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23) are still active in the northeastern North Kivu province, despite their recent withdrawal from several captured villages.
After the territory of Rutshuru, which the M23 conquered and where it occupies almost all the towns and villages, the rebels, deemed as "terrorists" by the DRC government, are now on the offensive in the territory of Masisi, in order to take control of the minerals that abound, General Sylvain Ekenge, spokesperson for the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC), told Xinhua.
THE M23 STILL ADVANCES
Over the past week, the M23 has occupied several villages in the Masisi territory, where fighting rages towards the town of Ishasha, which is lying on the border between the DRC and Uganda and is now still under the control of the Congolese government.
The fighting in Masisi territory has displaced thousands of civilians, seeking to find refuge in the Masisi-center region where the army has reinforced its presence to push back the rebels.
"We are scared about the ongoing situation in the villages around. There are displaced people who arrive here every day because their villages have been attacked by the rebels who are also advancing here. We really hope that the army will reinforce its workforce to stop the advance of the rebels," Marie Mugole, a resident of the city of Mushaki in Masisi, told Xinhua.
Fighting is also raging around the town of Kitchanga, also in Masisi, where the rebels have been trying for several days to take control of the roads linking the two territories of Masisi and Rutshuru.
The Congolese army has accused the M23 rebels of fueling inter-ethnic conflicts to justify its advance in Masisi. The rebels on the other hand have accused the army of being behind the alleged killings of members of certain Rwandophone communities. Both sides deny the accusation.
QUESTIONABLE WITHDRAWAL
M23's new moves in Masisi coincided with its recent withdrawal from two conquered areas. On Nov. 23, a mini-summit in Luanda, the Angolan capital, set a timetable that demanded an immediate ceasefire and above all an ultimatum asking the M23 rebels to leave the occupied areas in order to allow a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis.
In late December 2022 and early January 2023, the M23 rebels successively withdrew from the town of Kibumba and the military base of Rumangabo, the latter is currently under the aegis of the regional force of the East African Community (EAC).
More than six weeks after the Luanda peace summit, however, the M23's withdrawal remains questionable, as the rebellion still holds more than 100 villages in Rutshuru territory alone, according to local residents contacted by Xinhua.
During the handover ceremony of the Rumangabo military base on Jan. 6, the commander of the M23 movement, John Nzenze, told Xinhua that their movement had made many efforts to end the hostilities.
The DRC government has made it clear that it refuses any direct talks with the M23 until it respects the full withdrawal set out in the Luanda accord.
"There will be no dialogue with the M23 if it (M23) does not withdraw from Congolese soil," insisted the Congolese Minister of Communication and Media Patrick Muyaya, also a government spokesman, in November 2022.
ARMY REINFORCEMENT
Faced with the current situation, the Congolese army has heavily reinforced its presence in Rutshuru and Masisi to thwart the advance of the rebels, observed Xinhua on the spot over the past weekend in the locality of Mushaki, located in Masisi.
During an interview in Mushaki last Thursday, elements of the FARDC reassured the military presence and called on the population to calm down and to trust the FARDC, which is doing a remarkable job on the ground.
"We are present on the ground, and our men are containing the advance of the rebels in several areas. We will continue to defend our positions and bring the aggression back to where it came from once and for all," Ndjike Kaiko, spokesman for the military governor of North Kivu, told Xinhua, adding that the number of soldiers will be increasingly reinforced in Masisi.
The fighting between the army and the M23 rebels has already pushed thousands of people to leave the territory of Rutshuru to find refuge in several sites erected on the outskirts of the city of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province. ■