The Congolese army coalition fighting M23 rebels is estimated to have over 35,000 soldiers, almost five times larger than the rebel group’s personnel estimated at around 7,000.

 

The M23 has become a nightmare to the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, who is highly criticized by his opponents for failing to restore security in the east of the country, where millions of Congolese are displaced and thousands of others have died.

 

For more than two years since the M23 retook arms in late 2021, the Congolese army coalition of the Burundian national army, SADC troops, Eastern European mercenaries, the UN mission in DRC (MONUSCO), Wazalendo militias, and the Rwandan genocidal militia, FDLR, failed to defeat the rebel group.

 

Kinshasa spends billions of dollars paying the forces supporting national army to fight M23, but still loses battles.

 

The SADC troops were estimated to be 5,000 personnel from Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania, with an annual budget of $554 million. South Africa is deploying and extra 2,900 troops.

 

The UN mission in DRC which joined hands with Congolese army coalition against M23, has more than 12,000 personnel, costing more than $1 billion, annually.

 

Sources from Burundi and DRC note that Tshisekedi paid $2 million to President Evariste Ndayishimiye to deploy over 6,000 Burundian troops in eastern DRC. In addition, Kinshasa provides monthly payments of $5,000 for every Burundian soldier fighting M23, and an unidentified amount to every Burundian soldier killed on battlefield while fighting the rebels.

 

Each of the over 1,000 Eastern European mercenaries supporting the Congolese army’s operations in eastern DRC is given a monthly payment of $5,000.

 

Sources from civil societies groups in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, say that around 5,000 Wazalendo militiamen are provided with food stuffs, logistics, weapons and unidentified amount of bonuses every month.

 

The same provision is applied to more than 2,000 FDLR militiamen, but the leaders of this genocidal group are paid much more, every month, to mobilize more armed groups to participate in persecuting the Congolese Tutsi civilians for allegedly supporting M23.

 

The Congolese army has deployed more than 5,000 soldiers in North Kivu who operate with all the forces supporting Tshisekedi’s agenda of ethnic cleansing in eastern DRC.

 

The M23 rebels estimated at around 7,000 in strength; with insufficient logistics since they mainly rely on the arms and ammunitions captured on the battle.

 

Tshisekedi might be thinking of M23 as a heavily armed rebellion with hundreds thousands of armed men, sources say, but that is not the case. The only factor behind the rebels' strength is that they have a genuine cause for fighting, and are fighting for their lives.

 

The rebels are fighting to stop injustice and restore the fundamental rights of the Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese, especially the Tutsi who have been singled out for extermination by their own government.

 

The M23 is struggling to restore the rights of Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese in DRC as their plight has been overshadowed by international political and economic interests. The rebels have a legitimate cause of fighting for survival against persecution, genocide ideology and state-sponsored violence.

 

The forces supporting Tshisekedi’s army have no cause for fighting other than extracting and exporting minerals from eastern DRC.

 

Right after their deployment, the South African National Defence Force’s first mission was to fight off the M23 rebels from their captured territory in Sake, some 25 kilometers north-west of Goma, and precisely attempting to take control of Rubaya mine in Masisi, North Kivu.

 

The SANDF’s mission in Rubaya was clear, from the very start. The South African army is protecting their country’s interests, disregarding the plight of the Congolese people who are suffering.

 

The Rubaya mines are a series of coltan mining sites near the town of Rubaya in Masisi Territory where tonnes of the strategic mineral have been, for years, extracted and exported.

 

According to a source from Pretoria, the South African Mining Development Association (MIASA) wants access to the mining hub, prompting the South African troops to viciously fight off the M23 rebels, with the resultant civilian casualties, for the sake of securing the mines.

 

Burundian troops, on the other hand, are involved in large-scale gold smuggling activities in South Kivu Province.

 

Some MONUSCO officials were reported to be involved in the formation of armed groups in eastern DRC, using the armed groups in securing mining sites which their companies extract. The Eastern European mercenaries operating in North Kivu, are much known for drug trafficking and minerals smuggling.

 

Wazalendo and FDLR are also spending much of their time looting cows and property belong to Congolese Tutsi, and securing the mines of top Congolese military officials.

 

Tshisekedi will end up losing the war, and probably his country, as his so-called allies are only minding their own selfish interests. Their priority is not his irrational war.

 

The Congolese remain the only victims of the armed conflict in eastern DRC.