It is a date whose anniversary resonates with current events and the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC. Ten years ago, on November 20, 2012, the M23 (March 23 Movement) took control of Goma. 10 years later, these same rebels are again near the city.
In July 2012, the rebels took control of Bunagana and Rutshuru, advancing to Kibumba in less than two weeks. A truce of four months later, hostilities resumed on November 15. In five days, they reached Goma and forced the Congolese army to withdraw to Saké while the blue helmets remained confined to their camps and to the airport. At midday on November 20, the military leader of M23, Sultani Makenga, parade through the streets of the city.
At the same time, President Joseph Kabila urges ” the participation of the entire population in the defense of our sovereignty “, before flying to Kampala where he finds Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame for a summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. The next day they will ask the M23 to leave the city. But it will take more than a week of negotiations for the withdrawal to materialize.
10 years later, the situation is similar to that of 10 years ago. The M23 is back about twenty kilometers from Goma, where the Kenyan army is deployed this time as part of the East African joint force.
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” No negotiation, get out! »
And in Kinshasa, religious leaders, imams and civil society organizations are mobilizing thousands of faithful, activists and anonymous people in the streets against the ” balkanization ” and the ” conspiracy “. They vociferate against the international community and Rwanda, reports our correspondent, Pascal Mulegwa.
” No negotiation, get out! “. This slogan resounded Friday against the M23 during the march which started near the stadium of the martyrs. The avenue des Huileries was crowded with people, traffic interrupted. “ We are ready to go all the way, until Rwanda can be seriously condemned and until the M23 leaves its positions and peace returns to the Democratic Republic of Congo “, estimates Danny Banza, of the company.
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Christopher Ngoy, also a civil society activist, already opposes the very idea of integrating the rebels into the security forces after the negotiations planned in Nairobi: “ From this moment, we can no longer do it. They have proven that they are insatiable. What they want is to take part of the Congo and balkanize it. We say this must end, because the Congolese people will not back down “.
Nancy, she lines up behind her pastor. ” Our cause is just and the nation is sacred. We say no to any form of balkanization, we loudly denounce the complicity of international organizations. Let everyone take care of their nation, the DRC is for the Congolese “.
At the entrance to the commune of Gombe, the administrative center of the country, the police stopped the progress of the demonstrators. ” We have to keep walking. We must deliver the message to the ambassadors “Insists one of the demonstrators. In the end, only a select committee was able to submit a memorandum to the United Nations mission which notably calls for sanctions against Rwanda and that “ the international community hears our voice “, says Pastor Dodo Kamba, patron of the evangelical churches of Réveil du Congo.
Pastor Dodo Kamba, patron of the Réveil churches in Congo
Diplomatic efforts
And meanwhile, like 10 years ago, the diplomatic negotiations continue under the aegis of the East African Community. According to his facilitator, Uhuru Kenyatta, Paul Kagame agreed for the first time to help him “ urge the M23 to ceasefire and withdraw from conquered territories “. Kenyan President William Ruto is even expected in the Congolese capital next week, according to sources from the Kenyan and Congolese presidencies, reports our correspondent, Patient Ligodi.
The pressure on the M23 is therefore increasing, at least in public communication. The movement was also described on Friday as ” illegal armed group in a joint statement signed by the United States, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. These countries also recalled that the M23 is under United Nations sanctions and that ” all external support from non-state armed actors, including the M23, must end “.
However, the Congolese authorities are cautious. ” We expect to see Paul Kagame respect what he said to Kenyan President William Ruto “, confided a member of the government.
Kinshasa also intends to continue diplomatic pressure in Djerba, Tunisia, where the Prime Minister represents Felix Tshisekedi at the 18th Francophonie summit. The DRC intends to take advantage of its position in the organization to ask, once again, Rwanda to stop supporting the M23.
For his part, the French president spoke on the subject during a meeting with the presidents of Burundi and Rwanda. On the sidelines of the Francophonie summit, he said: ” We need the withdrawal of forces, stabilization by African forces under a UN mandate and an inclusive political process that must be launched as soon as possible so that all stakeholders can get out of this moment of tension. “.
Emmanuel Macron, French President
The UN Security Council also enters the dance. Its delegates met on Saturday with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.