Congo rebels seize strategic eastern town

The Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have infiltrated the strategic town of Uvira in eastern Congo on December 11th, which has served as a base for the Congo state-appointed provincial government, according to a Reuters report.

Gunfire was heard on the outskirts of the town, and residents fled to the countryside to avoid clashes. A local teacher, Godefroid Shengezi said, “The government told us that Uvira would never fall and that the situation was under their control,” adding that “The reality today is quite the opposite.”

Shengezi was afraid for his three young children, whom he had reported missing, and whom might have crossed to bordering Burundi, where thousands have refugees have gone. A coalition of the M23 rebels, however, assured residents of Uvira that they were safe and could carry on with their activities.

This comes as a blow to the Trump-mediated peace deal between Rwanda and Congo. Meanwhile, M23 rebels have been participating in a parallel deal with the Congolese government in Qatar.

In a statement to the international community on December 10th, the Congolese government urged for “urgent measures”, claiming that the “Rwandan aggression” was compromising the peace deal.

Rwanda, on the other hand, said that additional sanctions would not stop the conflict, citing that Kinshasa has failed to abide by the peace agreement and does not respect a halt on airstrikes as was agreed in Washington.

The Rwandan Foreign Ministry said, “The international community has not demanded an end to these attacks prepared for months by the DRC and instigated in the past week,” claiming that Congo was bombing towns near its border with the help of Burundi. Rwanda says that the Burundian military has deployed nearly 20,000 troops in South Kivu to assist the DRC government.

Reuters, Maghrebi.org