M23 rebels seize key DR Congo city as AU summit warns of reg
M23 rebels seize key DR Congo city as AU summit warns of regional war risk
The March 23 Movement (M23) armed group announced that its fighters had entered Bukavu. As the conflict escalated, regional leaders convened at the
ongoing African Union (AU) summit, in an effort to prevent the crisis from spiraling into a broader regional war
KINSHASA — The March 23 Movement (M23) armed group announced that its
fighters had entered Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu Province in the eastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
As the conflict escalated, regional leaders convened at the
ongoing African Union (AU) summit, which will be concluded on Sunday, in an
effort to prevent the crisis from spiraling into a broader regional war, Xinhua
news agency reported.
In a statement released Saturday, the M23 called on Bukavu
residents to form "vigilance committees to ensure security and to appoint
honest and responsible people to lead them." The group's spokesperson
Laurence Kanyuka confirmed earlier that the M23 had entered the city.
On Friday, the M23 announced that it had seized Kavumu
Airport, a vital humanitarian and military supply hub in South Kivu. The
airport serves as a key defensive line for Bukavu, located about 30 km away.
Local sources told Xinhua that despite the group's earlier
claim that it had no intention of capturing the city, its fighters continued
advancing toward Bukavu. Meanwhile, some DRC soldiers and their allies were
seen retreating toward Uvira, a strategic commercial and transport hub near the
Burundian border.
The latest M23 offensive comes weeks after the group claimed
to have captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, on January 26. Since
early February, the rebels have seized several towns in South Kivu, sparking
panic among Bukavu residents.
Violence has surged in the eastern DRC as the M23 intensifies
its offensives. Since late 2021, the group has captured several strategic
locations, including Goma, a regional urban hub with over one million residents
and 700,000 displaced people, the border trading town of Bunagana, and the
mining hub of Rubaya, known globally for its rich coltan deposits. The group
has also set up parallel administrations in occupied territories, appointing a
"provincial governor" in North Kivu last week.
The fighting in South Kivu, fueled by the M23's continued
offensive, threatens to push the entire region to the brink, United Nations
(UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Saturday during the African
Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. The escalating crisis in
the eastern DRC was a key item on the summit's agenda.
"Regional escalation must be avoided at all
costs," said the UN chief. "There is no military solution. The
deadlock must end and dialogue must begin."
In early February, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye
also cautioned that the conflict could spiral into a regional war if
hostilities in the eastern DRC persisted. "If it continues like this, war
risks becoming widespread in the region," he warned.
Analysts pointed to deep-seated ethnic tensions and
competition for the DRC's vast mineral resources as key drivers of the
conflict. A January report by the International Crisis Group, a global conflict
analysis organisation, warned that the fall of Goma had displaced thousands and
pushed the Great Lakes region closer to widespread conflict.
The mineral-rich eastern DRC remains a focal point of
conflict, with militias and government forces vying for control over valuable
resources such as coltan, tin, tantalum, and gold. Observers said that the
demand for these minerals was a key factor in fueling the outbreak of the
Second Congo War in 1998.
On Friday, DRC government spokesperson Tina Salama confirmed
that President Felix Tshisekedi would not attend this weekend's AU summit,
instead sending Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka to Addis Ababa. Tshisekedi
has also been absent from key regional meetings on the crisis, including a
summit co-hosted last week by the East African Community and the Southern African
Development Community in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Efforts to broker peace have repeatedly stalled. In
December, an AU-led peace summit under the Luanda Process, aimed at bringing
Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame to the negotiating table, was
abruptly canceled.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco, designated facilitator of
the Luanda Process, assumed the AU presidency for a one-year term on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters, he expressed frustration over the stalled talks but
insisted that dialogue remains the only viable path to peace.
"Our continent is going through a difficult period
marked by conflicts, between the DRC and Rwanda, but also in Mozambique and
Sudan, by terrorism and by unconstitutional regime changes. These are all
issues to be managed within the framework of the AU presidency. Therefore, it
is time for me to pass the baton to another head of state concerning the
mediation between Kinshasa and Kigali," said Lourenco.
The ongoing conflict between the M23 and the DRC government
is deeply rooted in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and
long-standing ethnic tensions between the Tutsi and Hutu communities. The DRC
accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23, while Rwanda alleges that the DRC army
has allied with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel
group accused of participating in the genocide against the Tutsi.
The humanitarian situation in the eastern DRC has
deteriorated drastically in recent weeks. Since January 26, more than 3,000
people have been killed, 2,880 injured, and over 500,000 displaced, adding to
the 6.4 million people already internally displaced in the region, according to
the UN.
