BREAKING: Rwandan-backed group declares ceasefire in war-torn DR Congo

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The Rwandan-backed armed group M23 announced a humanitarian ceasefire from Tuesday in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s long-troubled east, just days before a planned crisis meeting between the Congolese and Rwandan leaders.

Last week, the M23 and Rwandan troops seized Goma, the provincial capital of the mineral-rich North Kivu region, which has suffered from armed conflict for over three decades.

Although fighting has ceased in Goma, home to more than a million people, clashes have spread to the neighbouring South Kivu province, raising fears of an M23 advance towards its capital, Bukavu.

According to local sources and humanitarian workers, M23 and Rwandan troops are now near the mining town of Nyabibwe, approximately 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Bukavu airport.

No fighting was reported on Tuesday, but all sides have been deploying reinforcements and military equipment, according to local and military sources.

In a statement late Monday, the M23 announced it would implement a ceasefire from Tuesday “for humanitarian reasons.”

The group added that it had “no intention of taking control of Bukavu or other localities,” despite having declared last week its aim to “continue the march” across the country to the Congolese capital, Kinshasa.

In more than three years of conflict between the Rwandan-backed group and the Congolese army, half a dozen ceasefires and truces have been declared and broken.

With fears of a regional escalation mounting, the Kenyan presidency announced on Monday that Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame would attend a joint summit of the eight-country East African Community (EAC) and the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam on Saturday.

Call to Investigate Abuses

The United Nations has called for the reopening of Goma airport, warning of a “humanitarian emergency.”

“Goma airport is a lifeline. Without it, the evacuation of the seriously injured, the delivery of medical supplies, and the reception of humanitarian reinforcements are paralysed,” said Bruno Lemarquis, the UN humanitarian coordinator in the DRC.

The University of Goma has called on students to return to class, signalling a desire for normalcy in the city.

According to the UN’s humanitarian body, at least 900 people were killed and 2,880 wounded in the Goma clashes.

The ceasefire follows warnings from international observers that escalating violence could further worsen an already dire humanitarian situation.

Last week, the Congolese government reported that over half a million people had been displaced in North and South Kivu in January alone.

The UN Human Rights Council has scheduled a special session on the crisis for Friday at the request of the Congolese government.

South Africa Protest

A UN expert report published last year stated that Rwanda had up to 4,000 troops in the DRC, seeking to profit from mineral exploitation and maintaining “de facto” control over the M23.

Eastern DRC is rich in deposits of coltan, a metallic ore essential for producing mobile phones and laptops, as well as gold and other minerals.
Rwanda has never explicitly admitted to military involvement in support of the M23 and accuses the DRC of backing the FDLR, an armed group formed by ethnic Hutus who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

On Tuesday, around 75 Congolese and international NGOs called for an investigation into allegations of abuses by all sides involved in the fighting.

In Kinshasa, there have been growing calls for protests demanding international action. However, the authorities have banned demonstrations following previous attacks on embassies during rallies.
Since Sunday, access to social media has been restricted in Kinshasa.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Congolese protesters gathered outside the European Union offices in Pretoria, South Africa, calling for sanctions against Rwanda.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to continue supporting the DRC despite mounting pressure to withdraw his country’s troops following the deaths of 14 South African soldiers. Their bodies are expected to be repatriated on Wednesday.

Most of those killed were part of a SADC force deployed to eastern DRC in 2023.

AFP