AFRICA/DR CONGO – Despite US sanctions, the Rwandan offensive continues in South Kivu

Kinshasa – New attacks by the M23 movement rebels and their Rwandan allies on Uvira are feared. This is reported in a note sent to Fides by the local NGO, ACMEJ in Katogota, in the South Kivu province of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Uvira has long been contested between the Rwandan-backed M23/AFC rebel group and the regular Congolese army , supported by local Wazalendo militias. Following US pressure, the M23 initially appeared to have abandoned the town . However, the rebels have remained in the vicinity, as the ACMEJ statement now reveals. The statement says that on the night of March 17, gunfire was heard in Uvira, particularly in the hills of Kalundu, causing panic among the population. Last week, movements of Rwandan troops and the M23/AFC were also reported in the Ruzizi Plain. Clashes occurred between soldiers of the FARDC and their Wazalendo allies, as well as the M23/AFC and Rwandan troops. According to several reliable sources, fighting began around 6:00 a.m. on the morning of March 17 in Runingu, Biriba, Kabunambo, and the surrounding area. Shells were fired from positions held by the M23 and its Rwandan allies. “The shells reportedly destroyed a Catholic church in Runingu; others fell in the courtyard of a village school,” the statement reads. There were civilian casualties, and the population was forced to flee toward Burundi or Uvira. ACMEJ reports testimonies from residents of several Congolese villages bordering the Bugarama municipality in Rwanda. According to these statements, Rwandan military trucks carrying troops were seen traveling to various areas of the Ruzizi Plain and the surrounding highlands. The Rwandan soldiers reportedly intend to recapture Uvira, a strategically important town on the border with Burundi and Tanzania. Indeed, since March 20, new clashes between the FARDC and Rwandan armed forces, along with their M23 allies, have been reported in several towns on the Ruzizi Plain. Meanwhile, the population of Uvira is left to fend for itself. Without security forces, the residents are “subject to targeted assassinations, killings, torture, and other inhuman and degrading abuses by unknown armed men.”
The recent US sanctions against members of the Rwandan regime have therefore not deterred Kigali from continuing its military operations in the Congolese provinces of South and North Kivu. “The residents of South Kivu had hoped that the measures taken by the President of the United States against high-ranking Rwandan military officers would quickly restore peace and security, but unfortunately, no change has been observed on the ground,” the statement concludes.

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