Congolese activists on Wednesday, January 18, staged a protest in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in eastern DR Congo, against the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) because it has not waged an offensive against the M23 rebels.
The regional bloc earlier deployed a force to help stabilize the region and the M23 rebels, one of the more than 130 armed groups in the region, have pulled out of some territories they previously captured – including Kibumba and Rumangabo military camp – in order to give peace efforts, as set under the Luanda roadmap, a chance.
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According to Prof Gustave Tombola, an academic and expert in regional affairs, there is progress being made towards achieving the Luanda roadmap but the protests in Goma point to something sinister.
"The protests against the regional force is proof enough that some actors in DR Congo wanted war because, it’s a loss of face for FARDC [Congolese army] not being able to occupy territories that the M23 rebels vacated,” he said.
The Luanda agreement signed on November 23, 2022, directed the M23 rebel group to withdraw to its initial positions, as per the Extraordinary Meeting of the Chiefs of General Staff of the EAC Armed Forces of November 8, 2022.
Under the agreement, diplomacy was given first priority among efforts to pacify the country’s restive region but protestors on Wednesday raised concerns against what they alleged was the passivity and inaction of the regional force.
Areas recently vacated by the M23 rebels are occupied by the regional force.
Analysts note that the existence of the regional force, and what is being achieved, prove how weak Congolese authorities and army have been over years.
When East African Community leaders agreed on a regional force back in June 2022, DR Congo President, Felix Tshisekedi, hurriedly announced that the force would enter the country and hit the ground running, fighting M23 rebels.
A deadline of January 15, 2023, was set by the Luanda agreement for the M23 to have withdrawn and the regional force to occupy the vacated areas. The Congolese army and the M23 rebels were to keep away from the vacated area.
In November 2022, the Commander of the regional force, Maj Gen Jeff Nyagah, said that the bloc’s force will not battle the M23 rebels but guard the city of Goma and its environs pending the political dialogue. This angered Congolese authorities who, analysts say, wanted war and not peace.
Recent developments have raised red flags about the intentions of the Congolese government and military, and their sincerity in sticking to the roadmap agreed in Luanda. The Chief of Staff of the Congolese Armed Forces, Lt Gen Christian Tshiwewe, arrived in Goma on January 10, with much fanfare, for what was described as a working visit.
But, according to reliable sources, Tshiwewe held meetings with leaders of irregular armed groups, including the genocidal militia, FDLR, to coordinate a new FARDC offensive alongside newly arrived foreign mercenaries and other Congolese irregular armed groups.
According to Tombola’s interpretation of the protests in Goma prompted by Tshiwewe, such acts are a sign that the Congolese army is weak and that, eventually, the protests will back fire on the Kinshasa government.
"If the Chief of Staff of FARDC incited civil society organisations into protests, then it is also proof that the Congolese army is trying to buy off the public to not protest against it after its enormous lies and repeated failures,” Tombola said.
The issue of senior Congolese military officials getting involved in organising protests, analysts say, raises concerns about risks to the Kenyan troops deployed in the regional force, civilian casualties, as well as the continued targeting of Congolese Tutsi communities who are regular victims of FDLR and other brutal armed groups allied to the genocidal militia.
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"These protests against regional forces are based on toxic misinformation propagated by malicious Congolese politicians,” a Congolese national in Goma, who preferred anonymity, told The New Times. He noted that the protest’s mobilizers are the same anti-Rwanda campaigners that have, for long, fought against any effort geared towards peace.
In an earlier interview, Rwanda’s Government Spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, said: "We have information that renewed fighting is imminent, following the visit of the head of the DR Congo military to the region.
"This would not be the first time that the DR Congo sabotages plans to bring peace to the region. Rwanda is concerned about the potential for a new influx of refugees fleeing the new offensives. It would be extremely counterproductive and dangerous to attack troops of the regional force, and put more civilians at risk.”
Of particular concern is the participation of senior Congolese military leaders including Col. Salomon Tokolanga who was pinpointed by the UN Group of Experts as having led a meeting with FDLR and other illegal militia groups in Pinga, in May 2022, where an alliance was formed to fight the M23 rebels. The militia groups present at the meeting were given money and promised weapons for the new offensive.
In a separate meeting that Tshiwewe and the military governor of North Kivu province, Lt Gen Constant Ndima Kongba, held with civil society and opinion leaders, focus was reportedly on mobilizing violent demonstrations against the regional force stationed in Goma. There were hostile posts on social media by Congolese individuals against the Kenyan forces, calling for demonstrations aimed at chasing out the Kenyan forces.
Congolese army is providing support and weapons to illegal armed groups, including the FDLR, that are supposed to be disarming and demobilizing.