The DR Congo government wants the United Nations to impose sanctions on Rwanda, accusing the country of declaring war by sending additional troops across the border into DRC.
Additional droves of soldiers reportedly reinforce the M23 rebel military forces near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
Kinshasa claims that the fresh deployment of between 500 and 1,000 Rwandan soldiers has escalated the conflict, with the March 23 rebels intensifying its assault on the Congolese forces defending the city.
DR Congo’s Foreign Minister, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, lamented that the move was an open and deliberate violation of the country’s sovereignty and declaration of war.
The minister called for targeted sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans on Rwandan officials.
There has been a breakdown of diplomatic relations between DR Congo and Rwanda following the cancellation of peace talks between President Felix Tshisekedi and President Paul Kagame last December.
The M23 rebels, initially defeated in 2013, have regained momentum and are now approaching Goma, threatening the safety of over a million residents and displaced people.
The United Nations, the African Union, and the United States have called for an immediate ceasefire.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Rwanda to halt its support for the M23 rebels and called for their withdrawal from occupied areas in the DRC.
The UN has not previously named Rwanda as a direct party in the conflict, but its recent experts’ report accused Rwanda of using the M23 to gain access to DRC’s mineral resources, particularly gold, for its own benefit.
The violence has also claimed the lives of several foreign peacekeepers, with at least 13 soldiers killed including nine South Africans, three Malawians, and one Uruguayan.
The UN has begun evacuating non-essential staff from Goma due to the escalating violence.
There has been a standoff between Paul Kagame and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa after South Africa lost 13 peacekeepers.
President Paul Kagame Wrote …
“I held two conversations this week with President Ramaphosa on the situation in Eastern DRC…
… What has been said about these conversations in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies. If words can change so much from a conversation to a public statement, it says a lot about how these very important issues are being managed.”
According to Kagame there are a few important clarifications for the record:
- 1. The Rwanda Defense Force is an army, not a militia.
- 2. SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) is not a peacekeeping force, and it has no place in this situation. It was authorized by SADC as a belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the DRC Government fight against its own people, working alongside genocidal armed groups like FDLR which target Rwanda, while also threatening to take the war to Rwanda itself.
- 3. SAMIDRC displaced a true peacekeeping force, the East African Community Regional Force, and this contributed to the failure of the negotiation processes.
- 4. President Ramaphosa has never given a “warning” of any kind, unless it was delivered in his local language which I do not understand. He did ask for support to ensure the South African force has adequate electricity, food and water, which we shall help communicate.
- 5. President Ramaphosa confirmed to me that M23 did not kill the soldiers from South Africa, FARDC did.
- 6. If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.
President Cyril Ramaphosa Wrote…
Fellow South Africans,
Following the recent intensification of fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa has lost 13 brave soldiers who were dedicated to their mission and committed to peace.
The fighting is the result of an escalation by the rebel group M23 and Rwanda Defence Force militia engaging the Armed Forces of the DRC and attacking peacekeepers from the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On behalf of the government and the people of our country, I express our sincerest condolences to their families, their loved ones and colleagues. We bow our heads in honor of their heroic and gallant fight for peace.
We honor and mourn them.
All necessary support is being provided to the families of the deceased and the families of the injured. The process to repatriate the remains of the deceased is underway.
The attacks on peacekeepers resulted in the deaths of SAMIDRC members from other troop contributing countries, namely, Malawi and Tanzania, as well members of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) brigade.
We honor all the lives that were lost and pass our condolences to their families, governments and citizens. The situation in Goma and Sake, where our troops and their counterparts are stationed, remains very tense, volatile and unpredictable.
The Minister of Defense and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga and the Chief of the SANDF Gen Rudzani Maphwanya and SAMIDRC Force Commander Maj Gen Monwabisi Dyakopu are working to ensure that the SAMIDRC forces remain well equipped and sufficiently supported during this critical mission.
We are concerned about the speculation about the state of our troops and the battle conditions. All South Africans must rally behind our brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to bringing peace in our continent.
South Africa’s military presence in the eastern DRC is not a declaration of war against any country or state.
The members of the South African National Defense Force that are in the DRC are part of both SADC and United Nations efforts to bring peace and protect thousands of lives that are constantly threatened by the conflict in the DRC.
The presence of the SAMIDRC forces demonstrates a commitment of SADC member states to supporting the DRC in its efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability and ultimately, create an enabling environment for sustainable development and prosperity.
We welcome the position that was recently adopted by the United Nations Security Council during its special sitting on the situation in the DRC, which calls for an immediate end to hostilities, the reversal of territorial expansion by the M23, the exit of external forces from the DRC and the resumption of peace talks under the Nairobi Process.
The territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected in accordance with the United Nations Charter on the respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of other states.
We call on all parties to this conflict to fully embrace the current diplomatic efforts that are aimed at finding a peaceful resolution, including honoring the Luanda Process agreements. We must silence the guns on our continent for the attainment of inclusive development and prosperity.