DRC: Kinshasa denounces a “declaration of war” by Rwanda

Kinshasa on Sunday accused Rwanda of having “declared war” on it by sending new troops to support the M23 armed group which is now besieging Goma, the main city in eastern DRC, while the UN called on Kigali to withdraw its forces from the region.

According to consistent security sources, the fighting is taking place at the gates of Goma. The capital of the North Kivu province is home to a million inhabitants and almost as many displaced people.

The city was already virtually surrounded by the M23 and 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers present in eastern DRC, according to the UN, who have rapidly gained ground in recent weeks after the failure of mediation Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)-Rwanda under the auspices of Angola.

“A serious threat to Rwanda’s security”

Rwanda indicated on Sunday evening that it was placing itself in a “sustainable defensive posture” in view of the evolution of the fighting, a few hours after the UN expressly called on it to withdraw from this region. “This fighting near the Rwandan border continues to present a serious threat to Rwanda’s security and territorial integrity, and requires a sustained defensive posture by Rwanda,” the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The UN Security Council met urgently on Sunday to discuss the situation. “As I stand before you, an attack of incredible gravity is taking place before the eyes of the world,” declared Congolese Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner.

“New Rwandan troops crossed” the border and entered the DRC “in broad daylight,” she declared, denouncing “an open and deliberate violation of our national sovereignty.” “It is a frontal aggression, a declaration of war which is no longer hidden behind diplomatic artifices,” she insisted.

Rwanda offensive condemned by the United States

She then called on the Security Council for “targeted sanctions including the freezing of assets and a travel ban, not only against identified members of the chain of command of the Rwandan armed forces, but also against the political decision-makers responsible for this aggression “. As well as a “total embargo on exports of all minerals labeled as Rwandan, particularly coltan and gold.”

A few hours earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who had not so clearly blamed Kigali until then, said he was “deeply concerned by the escalation of violence” and called on “the Rwandan Defense Forces to stop supporting the M23 and to withdraw from the territory of the DRC,” according to a press release from its spokesperson.

The United States “condemns” the offensive by Rwanda and the M23 and will use “all tools” available against those fueling the conflict, their representative to the UN declared on Sunday.

A displaced persons camp hit by bombings

A Rwandan drone opened fire on Congolese positions on Sunday about six kilometers from Goma, security and UN sources told AFP. According to several sources within the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), “at least two paramilitaries” were seriously injured by these shots.

Other bombings hit the Rusayo displaced persons camp, on the outskirts of Goma, according to several humanitarian sources who did not give an assessment.

In central Goma, heavy detonations were heard from dawn, as Congolese army combat helicopters circled in the sky, according to AFP journalists.

Thirteen soldiers deployed within two regional forces killed

Cars and motorbikes are circulating but most businesses have closed. Looting by pro-Kinshasa militiamen was reported in outlying neighborhoods, according to civil society. As the fighting draws nearer, new columns of displaced people arrive.

On Saturday evening, the spokesperson for the Congolese army accused Rwanda of being “determined to seize the city of Goma.” The city was briefly occupied at the end of 2012 by the M23 (“March 23 Movement”), born that year and militarily defeated the following year.

Thirteen South African, Malawian and Uruguayan soldiers, deployed within two regional (SAMIDRC) and UN (MONUSCO) forces supporting the Congolese army, were killed in fighting with the M23 in recent days, the authorities announced on Saturday. authorities of the three countries.

“Strict observation of the ceasefire agreed between the parties”

Rwanda said on Sunday that it had “evacuated” its last diplomat to Kinshasa on Friday. Kinshasa, for its part, announced on Saturday to recall its diplomats to Kigali “with immediate effect”. The European Union called on the M23 to “stop its advance” and Rwanda to “withdraw immediately” in a statement signed by the 27 member countries.

The African Union (AU) called for “strict observation of the ceasefire agreed between the parties”.

In the east of the DRC, rich in natural resources, conflicts have continued for more than thirty years. Half a dozen ceasefires and truces have already been declared and then broken in the region. The last ceasefire was signed at the end of July.

The conflict, which has lasted more than three years, is further exacerbating a chronic humanitarian crisis in the region. According to the UN, 400,000 people have been displaced by fighting since the beginning of January. The United Nations has started to evacuate some of its personnel from Goma. The United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany have called on their nationals to leave the city as long as the airport and borders are open.

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