The group, with the support of the Rwanda Armed Forces, has intensified, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (RDC), with the intention of taking the city. This Sunday, the fighting has reached the outskirts of the capital of Kivu del Norte, a few hours before an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council requested by the RDC. The Congolese army has blocked with a strong military device all the accesses to the airport, one of the first objectives of the M23 in the city and where the clashes have already arrived; Flights have been canceled.
The offensive on rubber occurs from at least three fronts – this, north and east – and has accelerated in the last hours. From the early hours of Sunday, rubber citizens have counted through social networks that they hear intense explosions from the outskirts of the city. The M23 advances from Kimbumba, Sake and from the Rwanda border with the support of between, which makes an international climbing of the conflict fear as the UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned on Friday.
On Saturday, the M23 gave 48 hours to the Congolese soldiers and their allies of the Wazalendo militia to surrender, but General Sylvain EKENGE, spokesman for the Congolese Army, responded to them in a press conference: “Rwanda is determined to take rubber, but We will not let them in, this is a certainty. The war has only started. ” On Friday, the military gum governor, General Peter Cirimwami, was killed by a sniper while coordinating the counteroffensive about 20 kilometers from the city.
Similarly, at least thirteen international soldiers struggling next to the Congolese army to try to stop the progress of M23, nine South Africans, three Malauís and a Uruguayan, have died in the last three days of fighting. Ten of them were part of the Joint Force of Austral Africa and the other three participated in the United Nations mission for Congo (Monusco). The Congolese army has not facilitated casualties.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has held two telephone conversations with his counterparts in RDC, Félix Tshisekedi, and Rwanda, Paul Kagame, in an attempt to lower the tension. Through a statement, Macron has asked for “the immediate end of the M23 offensive and the Ruandesas forces, as well as the withdrawal of the latter from the Congolese territory.” The European Union has also condemned the progress of the rebel group and the presence of Ruandese soldiers. “It is an unacceptable violation of the high fire agreement and greatly exacerbates the disastrous humanitarian crisis in the northeast of the Congo,” he said through a statement. Around one million people have fled their homes and are around rubber or are heading towards neighboring Rwanda.
The authorities of this country are already preparing new refugee fields in anticipating a massive arrival of people in the next few hours. Diplomatic sources confirm that the pedestrian crossing from rubber to Rwanda has been closed, but that the passage of vehicles is open. One of the main fears of the population are rubber pillages, starring not so much by the M23 but for the Wazale militias that fight next to the army and that, according to the same sources, prepare to leave the city.
Meanwhile, the tension between the two countries in Liza continues to increase. On Friday, Rwanda evacuated his last diplomat present in Kinshasa, the capital of the neighboring country, and on Saturday, RDC ordered the return of all his staff in Rwanda “with immediate effect.” The entire international community has made calls to peace and high fire. Hundreds of humanitarian workers are still blocked in rubber, as well as mercenaries of private security companies.
