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Rwandan soldiers fighting alongside M23 in east DRC: UN experts

Author: Chany Ninrew | Published: July 8, 2024

M23 rebels look on in Kibumba in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on December 23, 2022. The Tutsi-led group has conquered swaths of territory in North Kivu province in recent months and come within several dozen kilometres of Goma. | Photo: AFP

A new United Nations investigation has revealed that some 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers are fighting alongside the M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The experts report commissioned by the UN Security Council and seen by French press agency AFP, noted on Monday that Kigali has “de facto control” of the rebels’ operations.

The experts said the Rwandan army’s alleged command and direction over M23 operations renders the country “liable for the actions of M23.”

The investigation stated that Kigali’s military interventions and operations in the Nyiragongo, Rutshuru, and Masisi territories in North Kivu “were critical to the impressive territorial expansion achieved by the M23 between January and March 2024.

The report’s researchers estimated that at the time of writing the paper in April, the number of Rwandan troops were “matching if not surpassing” the number of M23 soldiers, thought to be at around 3,000.

According to AFP, the report contains authenticated photographs, drone footage, video recordings, testimony, and intelligence, which it says confirm the RDF’s systematic border incursions.

It was also stated that footage and photos show rows of armed men in uniform operating equipment such as artillery, armored vehicles with radar and anti-aircraft missile systems, and trucks to transport troops.

The UN experts also said they had confirmation of “active support” for the M23 from members of the Ugandan intelligence services, even though Uganda’s army has been working alongside the Congolese army in its fight against another rebel group affiliated with the Islamic State group.

Eastern DRC has been torn by decades of fighting between government forces and more than 120 armed groups, often involving bombs targeting civilians as the militias seek a share of the region’s gold and other resources.

A civil society group told Associated Press on Wednesday that a militia attack on a gold mine in the region killed six Chinese miners and two Congolese soldiers.

The attack happened as the the M23 takes several territories – including the strategic town of Kanyabayonga, which is seen as a gateway to the major commercial centres of Butembo and Beni.

A military court in the North Kivu Province has recently convicted 25 soldiers to death on accusations that they fled frontline battles with the M23 rebel group in the east of the country, according to their lawyers.

Kinshasa has long accused Kigali of backing the Tutsi-led rebel group, allegations proven to be of substance by the United Nations, United States and other powers, but which Rwanda denies.

 

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