Cameroon President: No humiliation after a rebel takeover in Congo

30. Januar 2025

WOM

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The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, has threatened an "energetic and coordinated reaction" to a rebel group that besieged large parts of the mineral -rich east of the country and forced hundreds of local troops to surrender.

Defiant address and the location in Goma

In a combative television speech on Wednesday, Tshiseekedi explained that his country would not be "humiliated or smashed" while regional leaders are pushing for negotiations with the rebels. The city of Goma, the largest city in the northern Kivuan province of Eastern Congo, fell under the control of the AFC/M23 rebel coalition on Monday, as the rebels announced CNN. This was the most recent step in a number of territorial gains of the group in the past few weeks. The Congolese government has not confirmed Goma's takeover by the rebels, but admits that the city is besieged.

rebel advance and allegations against Rwanda

After several local reports, the rebels also move to the center of the neighboring South Kivu Province after taking cities there. The Congolese government has accused Rwanda of equipping the M23 with both weapons and soldiers. Rwanda does not deny the allegations, but criticizes the DR Congo because of its collaboration with a Hutu militia against a group of rebel mainly consisting of Tutsi, the CNDP from which the M23 emerged.

The role of the Hutu militias

Hutu-Milizen carried out the genocide of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in 1994 in Rwanda. Tshisekedi was not present when leader East Africa discussed measures to solve the crisis on Wednesday. At this meeting, they asked him to "deal directly with everyone involved, including the M23 and other armed groups with complaints." The Rwandian President Paul Kagame, who took part in the meeting, said that the only way to peace was that all parties enter into a dialogue and that mediators understand the context of the conflict.

The effects of the conflict

According to reports, several people, including foreign peacekeepers, have died, and hundreds of others were injured, while Congolese armed forces are fighting the rebels. In Goma, where residents announced that the fighting continued, hundreds of government troops were disarmed by the M23, according to the Uruguayan military, whose soldiers are part of the UN peace safety force in the region. Foreign mercenaries, which are assumed to help the Congolese army, also surrendered, reported the military Rwanda and said that on Wednesday it was "over 280 Romanian mercenaries and escorted on the side of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Fardc) in the east of the country." CNN asked the Congolese army to comment on their alleged use of mercenaries.

possible scenarios for the future of the conflict

In view of the tensions in the east of the DR Congo, the authorities are “faced with two possible scenarios”, according to an analysis of the leading Africa analyst Ladd Serwat from ACLED, a group based in Great Britain, which collects data on violent conflicts. "Control over Goma by the M23 and the Rwandic armed forces could urge the Congolese government and regional allies to take negotiations," said Serwat. Otherwise, he added, "Kinshasa could push for a military solution and expand the conflict through increased struggles to recapture Gomas and cross -border attacks in Rwanda." Tshisekedi previously threatened to make war decisions against Rwanda. Kagame reacted accordingly: "We are ready to fight", he said last June in an interview with the French broadcaster France 24 and added: "We are not afraid of anything."