Worsening Situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: UN Cites Alleged Role of Rwanda and Uganda
United Nations experts have pointed to what they believe to be Ugandan backing for the M23 rebels as a major factor in the escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). According to their warning, this could spark a larger conflict in the region.
It has long been believed that Rwanda is using the M23 rebel group, which is renowned for its fearsome weaponry, as a proxy force. New information from UN experts, however, implies that Uganda is also supporting the M23. Among the charges levelled against Rwanda is the presence of up to four thousand soldiers fighting alongside the rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Uganda has strongly disputed all of these claims. Rwanda did not deny the claims, but the Rwandan government was condemned for not having the political will to end the decades-long strife in the mineral-rich eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Signs of Engagement
According to UN experts, the number of Rwandan troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo might be more than the estimated 3,000 M23 combatants as of mid-April. Ethnic Hutu insurgents, the FDLR, have been a long-standing source of concern for Rwanda in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite previous collaborative operations to remove them, these rebels—whose leaders are accused of participation in the 1994 Rwandan genocide—remain a persistent menace. The genocide killed 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The Comeback of M23
In 2012, the Tutsi-led M23 gained prominence; however, in 2013, with the help of a multinational army, they were vanquished, and the majority of their fighters fled to neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda. Three years ago, the group started to regroup, and now they control a lot of territory in North Kivu province. According to the UN report, the situation has worsened, forcing an estimated three million people to flee their homes, and the M23 has set up a parallel administration in these regions.
What the UN Report Found
The United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee was recently given with a 293-page report detailing events that transpired up until the middle of April. Regional tensions have been ratcheted up a notch as this incident highlights the fact that Burundi’s military has been fighting alongside the Congolese army against M23 and Rwandan forces.
Worldwide Reactions
The claims of collaboration between the Ugandan army, M23, and the Rwandan military have deeply concerned the foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner. She said that DR Congo and Uganda will discuss this matter because the two countries have been working together in an effort against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel organization with ties to Islamic State, which is threatening both nations.
Uganda may have permitted M23 supplies and recruits to enter through its territory, according to the UN assessment. Rumour has it that since late 2023, Ugandan military intelligence agents have been in Bunagana, a town in the Congo, collaborating with M23 leaders and supplying transportation and logistics to areas controlled by the group. Deo Akiiki, Uganda’s deputy military spokesman, denied the accusations and said the country would be crazy to disrupt a region where it is working to keep things calm.
Benefit to Society
As hostilities escalate between the M23 and the Congolese army and its militia partners, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes, resulting in catastrophic humanitarian implications. The civilian population has been greatly affected by this increase, which has caused relocation and misery.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes as fighting intensifies between the M23 and the Congolese army and its militia allies
The Power of Politics
Some have interpreted the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) as the political arm of the M23, and the report goes on to say that Uganda allegedly backs them. The AFC, headed by the former head of elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, asserts that it is seeking peace in the east. However, according to sources in the UN report, this is seen as a way to appease the M23 while minimizing Rwanda’s responsibility in the conflict. A joint statement from the AFC and the M23 said that the UN experts were misrepresenting the situation and could be preventing the establishment of a permanent peace. Among the claims addressed in the declaration are the purported kidnapping of children and an assault on Goma airport by the M23, both of which Rwanda and the M23 deny.
War and Technological Progress
According to the United Nations assessment, the sphere of influence of the M23 and Rwandan military had expanded substantially by early April 2024, with a 70% rise from November. Joint M23-Rwandan operations have been strengthened by the deployment of superior military technology and equipment, which has changed the combat dynamics and grounded all military air assets of the Congo. Despite an arms embargo, the M23 allegedly received drones and weaponry, which are shown in the article with high-resolution photos and screen captures.
The Deployment of Regional Forces
In reaction to the worsening situation, a SADC regional force was sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) towards the year’s end to help with the east-central conflict management.
The situation in the eastern DRC is still unstable, and the presence of many regional players is hampering peace talks. The whole community is keeping a careful eye on the situation, hoping for a peaceful conclusion that can stabilize this unstable region.
