Who is dragging Rwanda in M23 attacks in DRC?

On Sunday, November 7, an armed group attacked military positions in the localities of Chanzu and Runyonyi, in North Kivu Province, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the M23, a group of former rebels of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), attacked villages near the border with Uganda and Rwanda.

The group’s name, M23, came from the March 23, 2009, agreement between the CNDP and the Congolese government, which M23 leaders claimed had not been respected by the government.

The latest attack came amid mounting violence in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, where armed groups like the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are active. The Congolese army’s Chief of Staff Celestin Mbala Munsense said that the M23 attacked, “with the intention of carrying out destabilizing actions.” Although the group's leader, Bertrand Bisimwa, denied that his men had launched such an attack in the region, he admitted that the M23 have been in the Rutshuru region since 2017.

Immediately after the attack, a Ugandan blog CommandPost UG, run by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) operatives claimed that, “according to sources inside Congolese army, FADRC, the M23 rebels crossed the border from Rwanda and attacked Bikoro and Mbizi in Jomba.”

No evidence was given for the allegation. But, of late, it has become a regular habit for Uganda to use Rwanda as a scape goat for all its failed schemes and operations, both in Uganda and DRC.

Contrary to claims by some in Kampala, Rwanda enjoys good collaboration with the DRC. The governments in Kigali and Kinshasa in the recent past agreed on joint operations to wipe out armed rebel groups in eastern DRC. These armed groups include the FDLR and RNC, terrorist groups from Rwanda.

The military commander of M23, Col. Sultan Makenga, and the group’s political leader or president, Bertrand Bisimwa, have lived in Uganda ever since the rebel group disintegrated.

The group’s political and command structure which can plan and execute attacks such as the one of Sunday would only come from Uganda, not Rwanda.  The Rwanda Defence Force on November 9 issued a statement which clarified that it is neither involved in nor supports any activities of the ex-M23 armed group.

“The ex-M23 group in question did not seek refuge in Rwanda during their retreat from DRC in 2013, but has been based in Uganda, from where this attack originated, and to where the armed group retreated,” the statement read.

According to Gen. Munsense, the resurgence of the M23 rebellion came at a time when DRC, “is engaging with neighboring countries for the normalization of relations in order to improve the security situation in the sub-region for lasting peace and harmonious development of our countries.”

Rwanda and DRC are interested in finding lasting solutions to the insecurity in the huge neighbour’s eastern region. But it is not good news for Uganda which has used the insecurity as an opportunity to carry out illicit trade and plunder DRC resources.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague in the past ordered Uganda to pay DRC $10 billion as compensation for the violations by Uganda’s military committed between 1997 and 2003.  

In September 2019, the armies of DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania met in the border town of  Goma and agreed on intelligence sharing on cross-border terrorism so that those involved can be tracked and apprehended.

Apart from Museveni who, apparently, does not want peace to return to eastern DRC for his monetary benefits, former Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s allies also are not happy with the return of peace in eastern DRC because they wish to use the violence there as a political campaign ticket against the government of President Felix Tshisekedi.