drc military

Drc Military - Armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kibumba in North Kivu province this month. Photo: Djaffar Sabiti/Reuters

East African heads of state have gathered for a closed-door meeting in Kenya to discuss the worsening security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the DRC's military is fighting a resurgence of M23 rebels.

Drc Military

The rebels are a group of mainly Tutsi fighters who were defeated in 2013 by the Congolese army and UN peacekeepers. The DRC has accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels - which Rwanda denies - sparking a diplomatic row between the neighboring countries.

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Six of the seven regional leaders were present at the East African Community (EAC) meeting, including DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, chairman of the EAC, called the bloc's meeting to discuss the deployment of a regional force in eastern DRC, which leaders hope will restore peace to the region.

Tens of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced in the latest wave of fighting between government forces and rebels claiming to be part of M23. In a statement announcing Monday's meeting in Nairobi, Kenyatta said the people of eastern DRC have long suffered and continue to pay a disproportionate price in loss of life, property and elusive peace.

Kenyatta has stepped up mediation efforts between the DRC and Rwanda since the former joined the EAC in April this year.

Analysts say de-escalating the conflict is important. "Tensions between these two countries could destabilize a region already facing political instability," said Nelleke van de Walle, project director for the Great Lakes Region at the Crisis Group.

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There have been long-standing tensions between the DRC and Rwanda since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, following a mass exodus of Rwandan Hutu refugees accused of killing Tutsis in eastern DRC. Relations between the two countries improved when Tshisekedi took office in 2019, but soured after the resurgence of M23.

Kenyatta said the regional force proposed by EAC leaders would work with local authorities and Monusco - a UN force in the DRC - to disarm anyone carrying illegal weapons. The DRC welcomed security cooperation from the bloc but opposed Rwanda's participation in the force.

Tensions between the two countries deepened on Friday after a Congolese soldier was killed while attacking border guards inside Rwandan territory, prompting the DRC to close its border with Rwanda. According to Van de Walle, cross-border attacks between the two countries could attract other countries in the region.

The border closure comes after hundreds of people staged anti-Rwanda protests in Kinshasa, the DRC's capital, in late May. In recent days, hate speech against Rwandans in the DRC has increased.

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Van de Walle said the consolidation of a regional force under a unified command was an interesting development and would be a stronger option than neighboring countries deploying their own forces separate However, he expressed concern that "having more boots on the ground in the DRC could create more instability rather than prevent violence."[1/2] Military personnel of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) near Beni in North-Kivu Province, File. /Kenny Katombe/File photo

KINSHASA, June 1 () - Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday extended a joint military operation launched last year against Islamist rebels in eastern Congo, the operation's spokesman said.

Uganda sent at least 1,700 troops to its central African neighbor in December to help fight a violent rebel group known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) - the biggest foreign intervention in Congo in more than a decade apart from UN peacekeeping operations. Read more

Operation Shujaa, originally scheduled to last six months, was extended on Wednesday despite the Ugandan military's earlier announcement that it would withdraw troops when the mission ends unless otherwise directed. Read more

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Shujaa spokesman Colonel Mak Hazukay said the Congolese and Ugandan armies signed documents on June 1 to extend their joint military operation to a third phase because the threat had not "been eliminated".

The length of the extension has yet to be determined and the number of troops deployed is classified information, he added.

The ADF began as an insurgency in Uganda, but has been based in Congo since the late 1990s. It pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2019 and is accused of killing hundreds of villagers in frequent raids over the past two years.

Uganda blamed the group for a triple suicide bombing in the capital Kampala on November 16 that killed seven people, including the bombers. Read more

Drc's President Tshisekedi Under Attack Over Regional Security Force

Islamic State claimed responsibility on Sunday for an attack on a village in North Kivu province that killed at least 15 civilians. L1N2XN21C

The ADF is among several militias fighting over land and resources in Congo's mineral-rich east over the past decade, a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions. Democratic Republic of Congo army soldiers sit on the back of a pick-up truck as they head towards Mbuzi Hill, near Rutshuru, November 4, 2013, after the army retook the area from M23 rebels. Photo: Junior D. Kannah/AFP/Getty Images

Troops clashed with M23 rebels around a strategic highway in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, sources said, following a recent flare-up between the two sides.

The main Congolese Tutsi group, M23 resumed fighting in late 2021 after several years of dormancy. It has since captured swaths of territory in North Kivu province, including the strategic town of Bunagana on the Ugandan border in June.

Drc National Army (fardc) Soldier During Military Operations Against The Rwandan Backed M23 Armed Group Near The City Of Goma Stock Photo

The group's resurgence has strained regional relations in central Africa, where the DRC accuses its smaller neighbor, Rwanda, of supporting the militia.

The frontline between Congolese troops and M23 rebels had been calm in recent weeks until Thursday, when clashes flared up again.

On Sunday, M23 fighters captured the village of Ntamugenga in North Kivu's Rutshuru region, according to local officials.

The village is about four kilometers (2.5 miles) from the RN2, a strategic highway leading to the provincial capital of Goma.

Congo Military Says Several Army Positions Attacked By M23 Rebels

"Clashes continue on RN2," said local official Justin Komayombi, adding that the road was blocked because M23 fighters were in the Kako and Kalengera communities.

Samson Rukira, a local civil society leader in Rutshuru, confirmed that the road was blocked. "The situation is tense," he said.

Kivu Security Tracker (KST), a respected monitor of violence, also said that M23 activity had cut off access to part of the highway.

The militia occupied the communities of Rubare, Kalengera and Kako, it added, all of which are on the highway.

March 23 Movement

#M23 has been on the offensive since Wednesday 26 October: they cut the Rutshuru – Jomba road to #Matebe (#Rutshuru terr., North #Kivu) and occupied the localities of #Rwanguba, #Kabindi and #Rangira. On Thursday the 27th they occupied #RN2 in #Rubare, #Kalengera and #Kako pic.twitter.com/Duq1z0MJOw — Baromètre sécurité du Kivu (@KivuSecurity) October 27, 2022

M23 first rose to prominence in 2012 when it briefly captured Goma before being driven out by a joint Congolese-UN offensive.

The militia is one of dozens of armed groups that roam eastern DRC, many of them a legacy of two regional wars that erupted at the end of the last century.

The same report said M23 plans to take over Goma, an important trading center for nearly a million people, in order to extract political concessions from the Congolese government.

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