Regional
European mercenary question in the DR Congo conflict
East
African Community force soldiers drive in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of
Congo on December 2, 2022. The simmering conflict in eastern DRC has roped in
Russia and other Eastern European countries now accused of aiding Kinshasa with
mercenaries.
The
simmering conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has roped in Russia
and other Eastern European countries now accused of aiding Kinshasa with
mercenaries.
Rwanda,
a neighbour Kinshasa considers belligerent and roundly accused of supporting
the M23 rebels in their fight against the Felix Tshisekedi government, has
accused the Congolese government of preparing for war instead of de-escalating
tensions in line with the various peace initiatives underway.
Kigali
has always denied any involvement with the rebels.
On
Thursday, the Paul Kagame administration released a terse statement, alleging
that Kinshasa had imported mercenaries to aid its war against the M23.
Presence of mercenaries
M23,
in a separate statement the same day, reiterated the presence of mercenaries
courtesy of the government.
By
press time, Kinshasa had not responded to these claims.
Diplomatic
tensions between the two East African Community (EAC) partner states heated up
and relations went a notch low, with Kigali accusing its neighbour of
undermining ongoing regional efforts to bring stability to the eastern part of
the country.
If
it is established that the Russian mercenary company, Wagner Group, has set up
camp in the DR Congo, it could complicate the conflict, which regional blocs —
the EAC and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) —
are trying to resolve.
It
also provides Kigali with ammunition to counter accusations by Kinshasa of
supporting the rebels. Congo has been demanding the exit of all foreign armed
groups from its eastern region.
Kigali
is now saying, “Look who’s harbouring foreign fighters!”
Rwanda accusations
On
Thursday, the Rwanda government statement said: “The recruitment of foreign
mercenaries by the DRC is a clear indication that the DRC is preparing for war,
and not peace. Of particular concern to Rwanda is the complete disregard of the
Luanda decision to ‘consider and resolve the issue of the return of refugees to
their countries of origin.’ Rwanda continues to bear the burden of hosting over
75,000 Congolese refugees, with more arriving daily due to continued insecurity
and persecution in eastern DRC. The DRC government has not acknowledged the
situation of these refugees and made no effort to facilitate their safe return
to their homes in the DRC.”
President
Kagame first spoke publicly about the presence of mercenaries in the Congo on
January 9, 2023, during the swearing-in of the new president of the Rwanda
Senate.
‘Situation is a mess’
“When
you hear a situation is relying on mercenaries, you know that situation is a
mess. If it comes to us dealing with the mercenaries, we are overstocked to
deal with mercenaries. Mercenaries are the most useless people you can rely
on,” Kagame told the Upper House of Parliament in Kigali, adding that bringing
in mercenaries would deteriorate the situation.
“It
gets worse, not better,” he warned.
Asked
by the Financial Times in October last year about the presence of mercenaries
in Congo, President Tshisekedi dismissed the allegations saying, “I know it’s
fashionable now… No, we don’t have to use mercenaries.”
Investigation
German
publication Taz was the first to report that its independent investigation with
multiple sources in DRC — including local journalists, M23 rebels and the
general Congolese public — confirmed the presence of European fighters, whom
many refer to as Russians.
Confirmed arrival
According
to Taz, an employee of Congo’s immigration department at the airport in Goma
confirmed their arrival.
“When
the white military arrived on December 22, he stamped passports from Romania in
a Boeing 737 chartered by the Romanian airline, Hello Jets. A photo posted online January 2 gives more
concrete clues. A white elderly man with
cropped hair, dressed in civilian clothes but holding an AK-47 assault rifle, stands
between two Congolese soldiers on road north of Goma. This man is a seasoned
mercenary from Romania: Horatiu Potra,” the publication wrote.
German
public broadcaster DW this week reported the presence of “white military
personnel from Eastern Europe” in Mbiza Hotel, Goma, quoting security sources
who traced their presence to Christmas.
“There
are dozens, maybe even a hundred white men in uniform,” a local journalist told
DW. “They wear a variety of uniforms with no national flags, and pistols on
belts.”
Presidential
guard
The
journalist added that soldiers of the Congolese presidential guard closely
guarded the Mbiza Hotel entrance. They told him foreigners had booked all the
rooms for an extended period.
“It
is now the headquarters of the whites,” reported DW, quoting a soldier at the
entrance.
Diplomatic
circles have been speculating for weeks on the coincidence of the presence of
armed Eastern Europeans in Goma amid a new round of fighting in eastern DRC.
Then
there have been photos circulating on Twitter showing the corpse of a white man
in camouflage uniform lying in dirt.
“This
is what happens to the Russians of Wagner,” someone commented.
Taz
said the M23 leadership confirmed that the white man was killed in the village
of Karenga on December 30, 2022.
Technical support
When
the rumours of mercenaries first emerged earlier this month, Kinshasa refuted
them. It did, however, suggest that it is free to engage foreign technical
support, especially after buying military hardware from Europe.
“It
is said today that the DRC is hiring mercenaries. The President had answered
this question very clearly. He said that we are not going to resort to a
militia to solve a militia problem,” said Patrick Muyaya, the Congolese
minister for Information and government spokesman.
“But
the DRC, as a sovereign state, is entitled to organise its defence. When we
have Sukhoi planes, but there are technical personnel who must maintain them,
and if we don’t have the manpower what do we do?
“When
the country [DRC] needs to train its military, we need instructors and we have
skills, particularly from the French legion. Should we deprive ourselves of the
means to train our military to defend the integrity of our territory? All this
is part of a bad campaign because they want to avoid international attention on
the responsibility of Rwanda through the M23 in the aggression of the DRC, in
the massacre of Kishishe,” he said, referring to a recent spate of killings
cited in a UN Panel of Experts report.
Since
last year, members of the Bulgarian private army Agemira have appeared in DR
Congo and were once praised by local officials for repairing old combat
helicopters in under two months, according to the DW. They also demonstrated the firepower of a
Sukhoi fighter jet to one minister in Kinshasa.
UN report
The
information about the presence of mercenaries is also detailed in a UN report,
which cited Romanians, Bulgarians, Georgians and Belarussians – Europeans who
traditionally have close ties with Russia -- among those spotted in the DR
Congo.
The
Wagner Group, a private military company begun by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former
aide of Russian President Vladmir Putin nicknamed “Putin’s Chef,” has been
cited across Africa, operating in conflict areas including Mali, the Central
Africa Republic, Sudan and briefly in Mozambique.
Their
operations have been controversial. In Mali they have been praised for fighting
insurgents but are accused of violations, too. The US has since 2021 sanctioned
its leaders, including Yevgeny. But the company still operates across key
conflicts, providing deniability for Moscow.
Nonetheless,
the DRC may be profiting from its recent freedom to engage foreign military
support without seeking permission from the UN Security Council’s sanctions
committee.
Arms sales
On
December 20, 2022, the Council lifted the requirement for notification and
countries are no longer required to inform the UN about arms sales or military
support for the Congolese government. Three weeks later, a Turkish military
aircraft touched down in Goma with a “donation” of weapons.
Lt-Gen
Constant Ndima, the military governor of North Kivu, who received the equipment
on behalf of President Tshisekedi, said the Turkish donation “will strengthen
the Congolese army units on the frontlines” against armed groups and the M23.
But
that free access to weaponry has come with possibility of clandestine foreign
fighters.
Weapons claims
Rwanda
has alleged that Kinshasa continues to provide weapons fight alongside illegal
armed groups in eastern DRC, including the genocidaire militia, FDLR.
“This
also constitutes a clear violation of the Nairobi Process, which is aimed at
disarmament and demobilisation of these armed groups, and a threat to Rwanda’s
security,” said the statement issued on Thursday by Kigali.
The
statement came a few hours after President Tshisekedi told business leaders at
the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Rwanda is
“blocking development in the region” and that M23 rebels have not withdrawn
from recently seized positions despite international pressure.
“They
pretend to move, they act like they are moving, but they’re not. They’re simply
moving around, redeploying elsewhere, and they stay in the towns that they have
captured,” Tshisekedi said in a panel session.
Beyond military
Kigali
alleges the staged demonstrations against the EAC Regional Force in Goma and
other parts of the DRC constitute part of a plan by the DRC military and
government to exit the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes.
It
added that demonstrations appear aimed at causing the departure of the force,
whereas the Luanda Communiqué calls for “continued full deployment of the EAC
Regional Force”.
But
pulling the EACRF into combat could have ramifications.
One
risk is losing the goodwill to pursue diplomacy. But there is also a risk of
losing public support if the force looks just as lethargic as the UN
stabilisation mission, Monusco, which faced violent protests last year over
alleged inaction.
Non-combative efforts
Meanwhile,
non-combative efforts to end the conflict are set to continue.
EAC
Lead Facilitator for the Nairobi Process, former Kenyan President Uhuru
Kenyatta, confirmed that the Nairobi 4 Intra-Congolese consultations will kick
off next month in some key towns in North Kivu, when the facilitators will
interact with affected communities closer on the ground.
They
will however, be preceded by a meeting of the Luanda process in Bujumbura or
Goma later this month, EAC Secretary-General Peter Mathuki said in Nairobi this
week.
On
Thursday, the M23 maintained that it withdrew from Kibumba and Rumagambo on
December 23, 2022 and January 6, 2023 respectively, adding that it has been
ready to hand over other areas as per the resolution of the Mini-Summit of
Luanda.
The
group accused Kinshasa of not honouring its part of the communiqué, including
the disarmament of local and foreign armed groups.
“We
are observing on all frontlines including Kitchanga and its surroundings, the
buildup of DRC Government coalition forces (FDLR, Nyatura, APCLS, Codeco,
Pareco, Mai-Mai and others) alongside European mercenaries,” the group said in
a statement in which they further threatened not to sit and watch the
slaughtering of innocent populations.
This
week, the ADF terror group that is affiliated with the Islamic State revived
its assault with an IED attack at the Community of Pentecostal Churches in
Central Africa (CAPAC) in Kasindi that claimed 17 lives and left scores injured
on Sunday.
Abdirizak
Muktar Garad, a Kenyan from Wajir County who went into hiding after stealing of
Ksh11 million from a safe in a building in the Eastleigh area of Nairobi mid
last year, was arrested in Kasindi and taken to Kinshasa for questioning after
the Congolese authorities linked him to the IED attack.
Two
days later, the same terror group attacked and burned six oil tankers belonging
to Somali businessmen at Tolitoli in Ituri Province. They are believed to have
kidnapped some workers and stolen a vehicle from the area.
Source:
www.theeastafrican.co.ke