The Congolese government is steadfast in condemning whoever it suspects of working alongside the M23 rebels.
Photo: Wikipedia
There’s uncertainty over the dialogue between Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and France, scheduled for Paris at the end of this week, because the DRC government bombarded areas occupied by M23 rebels.
Meanwhile, a proposed summit to end the eastern DRC conflict, scheduled for 13 November in Washington, is also hanging in the balance.
The most anticipated of the two meetings is the American one, which hinges on the M23 and the DRC government agreeing to the restoration of government authority in areas that are under the control of the rebels.
It is unlikely the latter would accept this demand, a diplomatic source told the Mail & Guardian.
The US and Qatar-led peace deal that came into effect on 27 June has been violated on numerous occasions, with the two sides trading accusations.
Talks have stalled because of ongoing armed clashes, while the Congolese government has not given in to M23’s demands for the release of prisoners of war.
The rebels on Tuesday said they had been forced to “exercise their right to defence” because government forces directed their firepower towards Kibati, Bibwe, Nyabiondo, Bukombo and nearby areas, in North Kivu.
The M23 called the attacks on these densely populated civilian towns “indiscriminate aggression” and, as such, with the Congo River Alliance, the political parent of the M23 and like-minded forces faced with “this murderous campaign”, they said they had one option — to fight.
They would “employ all necessary means” to protect the civilian population.
Kibati has a population of at least 65 000 people.
Most of the hotbeds of armed clashes are areas such as Bibwe, which the M23 took over on 9 September after two days of heavy fighting against the government-aligned rebel outfit, the Wazalendo.
With mistrust on both sides, the M23 has continued to strengthen its military personnel.
In early October, addressing a graduation ceremony of 9 350 recent recruits, M23 commander Sultani Makenga said they were working on “bringing change to our nation”.
The Congolese government is steadfast in condemning whoever it suspects of working alongside the M23 rebels.
On Monday, the government moved on to ban the operations of the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) of former president Joseph Kabila, who has a death sentence hanging over his head.
A fortnight ago, Kabila held a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, that brought together numerous Congolese opposition parties who vowed to save the DRC from authoritarian politics.
The DRC’s interior ministry accused the PPRD of “complicity with the M23 rebellion”, but the party, in a statement, denounced the move as “illegal and political”.
The government has also banned Jose Makila Sumanda’s Labour Alliance for Development from political activity after attending Kabila’s Nairobi summit.