Africa-Press – Uganda. The deployment of Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC) troops in North Kivu province will make the Democratic Republic of Congo government understand that it is a wrong move, Mr Bertrand Bisimwa, the president of the March 23 Movement (M23) has warned.
The DR Congo government is in the process of collaborating with SADC troops to replace Uganda, Kenya, Burundi and South Sudan peacekeeping troops deployed in the area under the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF).
The EACRF mandate is set to expire on December 8, 2023, and the DR Congo government hasn’t shown signs of extending it, on accusations of failing to launch an assault on M23 rebels.
Addressing a media conference on Saturday evening at Bunagana town in Rutshuru territory, Mr Bisimwa argued that the deployment of SDC troops would be a bad move because President Félix Tshisekedi is “intentionally dodging dialogue with M23”.
“DR Congo government has repeatedly been telling lies to the public by faulting EACRF troops for failing to fight yet its role is to create a buffer zone to pave the way for dialogue to start,” he noted.
Mr Bisimwa also condemned the silence of the international community on the acts of ethnic cleansing by the Kishasha government against its population.
He says the bombing of towns heavily populated by civilians and malicious destruction of public and private infrastructure are acts of impunity.
“Despite all this, we remain convinced that the only way to bring peace in Eastern DR Congo is through dialogue that addresses the root causes of the conflict,” he said.
The rebel leader warned that if the DR Congo government continues to think that they will resolve the crisis with arms, M23 will beat them militarily.
Meanwhile, there has been a lull of gun sound on all the fronts in Rutshuru, Nyiragongo and Masisi territories since Friday this week as both belligerents remain in their positions.
In March 2022, M23 rebels led by Bisimwa and Gen Sultan Makenga launched a war against the government.
The DR Congo government accuses Rwanda of backing M23, but Rwanda and M23 strongly deny it. The rebels claim to fight against bad leadership in DR Congo based on corruption, xenophobia, and discrimination.
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