The M23 rebel group in eastern DR Congo on Monday, February 13, accused a government-led coalition of "slaughtering the civilian population” in North Kivu Province and said it was "obliged” to stop it. Heavy fighting has been going on for a week in Sake, a strategic town located 25 kilometres north-east of the provincial capital, Goma.
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The United Nations says the hostilities forced about two-thirds of Sake’s population to flee to Goma.
According to the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, the fighting that began in early February threatens to block the road between Sake and Bweremana, a major route connecting North Kivu and South Kivu Provinces. Fighting continued on Tuesday in Busumba and Butare areas in Masisi territory.
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In a statement on Tuesday, M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said the armed group was "not in the campaign to conquer territories,” but found itself "obliged to silence” heavy artillery, drones and combat tanks at their source.
He said the humanitarian crisis in Masisi was unprecedented, adding that the M23 was "coming to liberate” the residents of Sake.
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The rebels insist that they want peace talks with the Congolese government. Regional and international calls to resolve the conflict politically have failed.
A United States-brokered ceasefire in December 2023 failed to hold. Regional peace initiatives like the East African Community-led Nairobi Process and the African Union-backed Luanda Process have been in a stalemate for months, as the fighting enters its third year.
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The Congolese government pursues a military campaign, with a coalition comprising militias like the Rwandan genocidal group, FDLR, as well as troops from Burundi and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which deployed a regional force in December 2023.
The M23 rebellion resurfaced in November 2021, after nearly a decade in hibernation. The rebels say they are fighting for the protection of civilians in eastern DR Congo who are persecuted by militias such as the FDLR.
The UN-sanctioned FDLR is accused of spreading violence and genocide ideology targeting Congolese Tutsi communities in the east of the country.
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UN and US officials have warned that hate speech and violence against the Congolese Tutsi communities in eastern DR Congo could result in genocide if not stopped.
Eastern DR Congo has been volatile for nearly 30 years.
The provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri are home to more than 130 armed groups that are accused of committing atrocities and human rights violations. Multiple regional and international interventions failed to end decades of insecurity.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, has begun withdrawing its troops in the restive region after more than 20 years.