Authorities in Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo are still pulling strings over foiled relationships which is deep rooted in M23 rebel activities in the Eastern Congo in North Kivu province.
According to the letter dated 7th November, 2022, authorities in Rwanda through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, wrote to their counterparts in Kinshasa over what they described as violation of Rwandan territory.
This follows an incident that happened on Monday, 7th November, 2022 where a Sukhoi-25 fighter jet belonging to the government of Democratic Republic of Congo touched ground at Rubavu Airport in Western province of Rwanda before it took off for DRC.
“The said violation happened on 7th November, 2022 at 1120hrs when a Sukhoi-25 fighter jet of the government of DRC in violation of Rwandan Airspace, touched down at Rubavu Airport in Western Province of Rwanda and immediately took off for DRC. No military action was taken by the government of Rwanda,” wrote the Rwandan Foreign Affairs Ministry in protest against the action.
Rwandan authorities revealed that there has been many provocations from Kinshasa government. The provocations mentioned included the cross-border shelling of Rwandan territory by the Congolese Army in March 19, May 23 and June 10, 2022 while pursuing the M23 rebels who are claimed to be bankrolled by the Kigali government.
“Today’s incursion is one of the many provocations following the cross-border shelling of Rwandan territory with a 122mm BM-21 multiple rocket launcher system on 19 March 2022, 23 May 2022 and 10 June 2022,” stated the Rwandan Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The two governments have been in conflicts over the presence of M23 rebels in Eastern Congo, a rebel group that many experts allege to be backed by the Rwandan government.
M23 is majorly a Congolese Tutsi tribal group who mutinied from the Congolese army over discrimination and poor working conditions. They have been operating in the mineral-rich areas of Goma in North Kivu province in Eastern DRC.
According to a report released in July 2022 by the United Nations Group of Experts, they got sufficient evidence pinning the government of Rwanda as the major supporter and funder of M23 rebels.
“The UN group obtained solid evidence of presence of, and Military operations conducted by, RDF (Rwandan Defense Force) members in Rutshuru territory between November 2021 and July 2022” said the report.
“The RDF conducted joint attacks with M23 fighters against Congo’s army and Congolese armed groups, and provided the rebels with weapons, ammunition and uniforms” the report added.
The UN group detailed evidence including photos of Rwandan soldiers in an M23 camp, drone footage showing a hundreds of soldiers marching near the Rwandan border, and photos and videos of M23 rebels putting on newly acquired uniforms supplied by Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF).
The government of Kigali was reluctant to give a comment when the report came out. Rwanda government has always denied itself being an aide to the the M23 rebels and M23 has always denied support from the Rwandan side.
In the recent tweets by the Uganda’s first son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, he expressed support for the M23 rebels excusing them to be branded as terrorist and describing them as to be fighting for the peace of the Tutsi in Congo.
“As for M23, I think it’s very, very dangerous for anybody to fight those brothers of ours. They’re not terrorists! They are fighting for the rights of the Tutsi in Congo,” said the Gen. Muhoozi who is currently fond of making trips to Kigali purportedly to visit, Rwandan President Paul Kagame who he usually addresses as his “uncle” since the harmonization of conflicts between Uganda and Rwanda which led to the closure of Gatuna border route for close to two years.
The Democratic Republic of Congo was recently admitted to the East African Community which many expected that her full membership would bring an end to rebel activities in the vast mineral-rich areas in the east where the government has failed to manage since independence.
Peace talks have been ongoing to resolve the M23 conflict eastern Congo and harmonize the relationship between Rwanda and DRC in Luanda, Nairobi and Bujumbura. The Foreign Affairs Ministry authorities in Rwanda advised their counterparts in DRC to concentrate on political dialogue as recommended by the regional leadership in an effort to end the M23 problem in the region.
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