The east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has suffered from insecurity for over three decades, with successive governments in Kinshasa failing to address its root causes and providing a sustainable solution.
Regional political analysts say the independence of North and South Kivu Provinces, perhaps, would help end the long-lasting killings targeting unarmed civilians in the vast region. Their suggestion is based on the fact that the hostilities are escalating more especially in localities controlled by the Congolese army coalition than in those under the control of M23 rebels.
As noted by the UN’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, in eastern DRC, the current violence is mainly the result of the refugee crisis which led to the flight of many individuals involved in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, to eastern DRC, forming armed groups such as the FDLR which are still active in the region.
In 2022, Nderitu stated that “the abuses currently taking place in eastern DRC, including the targeting of civilians because of their ethnicity must stop.”
Since the 1990s, their Congolese compatriots from other tribes have persecuted them, looted their cattle and massacred hundreds of thousands of Rwandophones, especially Congolese Tutsi. Thousands of them have been killed, while millions fled to neighboring countries or are displaced internally.
The persecution of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese triggered the creation of rebel groups to fight against the existential threat imposed on them by compatriots under the supervision of Congolese leadership.
They are facing threat of genocide ideology being spread by negative armed groups such as FDLR from Rwanda.
The M23 rebels are currently fighting against a big Congolese army coalition comprising Burundian troops, SADC troops, European mercenaries and private military companies, FDLR, the UN mission in DRC, MONUSCO, and a myriad other local militias grouped under the so-called Wazalendo.
Since their resurgence in late 2021, M23 rebels occupied swathes of territory in North Kivu Province in eastern DRC. The rebels control towns such as, Mweso, Mushaki, Kirumba, Rubaya, Kanyabayonga, Nyanzale, Bunagana, Kiwanja, Kitchanga, Rutshuru and Sake, and vital access roads to Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said the rebel group is not in the campaign to conquer territories, but it found itself “obliged to silence” the enemy’s heavy artillery, drones and combat tanks at their source.
Kanyuka added that the M23 was “coming to liberate” the residents in localities which were occupied by Congolese army and militia groups who were persecuting Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese.
The rebels insist that they want dialogue with Kinshasa. The latter continues to refuse talks, branding the rebels as “terrorists”.
The December 2023 report by the UN Group of Experts on DRC noted that the newly created and government-sponsored armed group, Volontaires pour la défense de la Patrie (VDP), triggered a flare-up of violence. Indiscriminate shelling, kidnappings, and targeted assassinations were committed. On the other hand, in the localities under M23 control, such inhumane acts are rare because the perpetrators were defeated and fled.
Civilians in those areas feel secure, and some of them have been requesting the rebels not to leave them. They fear that if M23 leaves their localities, Wazalendo, FDLR and Congolese army elements will return to massacre them.
Since Tshisekedi refused dialogue with M23, or protecting and recognizing Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese the same way other citizens are treated, the rebel group has no other choice other than protecting its community.
There will be a need to fully secure both provinces where Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese mainly live. With this, the hundreds of deadly armed groups will no longer be allowed maneuver in the region as it will remain under the control of M23.
Analysts say this would help to end decades-long hostilities in eastern DRC, and repatriate hundreds of Congolese refugees in exile.
