DRC : the EAC urges clarifications on the deportation of Rwandan officers
In a letter sent on February 1, 2023 to Christophe Apala, the Congolese Deputy Prime Minister at the same time Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary General of the East African Community States (EAC), Peter Mathuki, asks for “further and urgent clarification” on the deportation of Rwandan officers of the EAC regional force headquarters based in Goma, capital of the province of North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). INFO SOS Médias Burundi
The Kenyan national talks about concerns in his letter.
“The East African Community (EAC) has learned with concern of the deportation to Rwanda, dated January 30, 2023, of three officers deployed by the Republic of Rwanda to the regional force headquarters of the EAC in Goma”, Mr. Mathuki wrote.
The EAC Secretary General reminds this Congolese official that the deployment of officers within the EAC regional force in Goma to support the regional command was a decision of the Heads of State during their meeting on the peace process in the east of the DRC held on the sidelines of COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, on November 7, 2022.
Mr. Mathuki also reminds him of other agreements signed with the EAC.
These include the status of the forces agreement concluded between the DRC and the EAC on September 8, 2022 for the deployment of the EAC regional force in eastern DRC. Article 2 of this status specifies that the personnel have privileges and immunities specified in the EAC Agreement and Protocol on Defense Cooperation.
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Rwanda-DRC : DRC accuses Rwanda of planning a massacre of Congolese Tutsis in order to find an alibi to invade (press release)
Relations between the two neighbors in the Great Lakes region of Africa continue to deteriorate. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the M23 militarily. The armed group, generally made up of Congolese Tutsis, took up arms again at the end of 2021, accusing Congolese authorities of not having respected their commitments on the reintegration of their combatants. After a brief truce, the M23 resumed fighting justifying wanting to protect the Tutsi minority against “a genocide planned by Kinshasa”. Last Thursday, the group conquered the city of Kitshanga located some 80 kilometers northwest of Goma after three days of intense fighting.
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Masisi (DRC) : the city of Kitshanga fell into the hands of the M23
During a meeting of the council of ministers at the end of the week, President Tshisekedi assured that all necessary measures to “block the road to Rwanda and the M23 terrorist group have already been taken”.
Observers and human rights defenders fear that the situation could explode as warnings about a humanitarian disaster continue to be issued. More than 60,000 civilians have fled their homes following hostilities in Masisi territory alone, according to local authorities.
The civil society in North Kivu accuses the regional force of playing a double game, in favor of the M23.
Rwanda, which sweeps aside accusations of its western neighbor, continues to accuse Congo of “collaborating with the Rwandan FDLR genocidaires” by providing them with uniforms, weapons and ammunition in the aim of “destabilizing its territory”.
