The AFC/M23 rebels should quickly move in, fully capture, and secure the entire of Bukavu, the capital of DR Congo’s South Kivu Province, so as to end the ongoing vandalism and looting done by militiamen and criminals, a businessman who fled the chaos that erupted when the government army coalition started fleeing on Friday, February 14, has told The New Times. ALSO READ: M23 commander who took part in seizure of Goma links genocidal militia to MONUSCO The businessman, and his colleague, are among a number of Bukavu residents who, on Friday, decided to temporarily relocate to neighbouring Rwanda’s Rusizi city as they wait for the situation back to normalise. The AFC/M23 rebels on Friday captured Kavumu airport which is located about 25 kilometres from Bukavu, and raised the hopes of people in Bukavu that “the city would also soon be in safe hands.” Hours after the capture of Kavumu, videos circulated on social media showing columns of rebel troops entering some suburbs of Bukavu and others showed Congolese and Burundian troops fleeing in the opposite direction. But now, the businessman said, people are worried that things back home are worsening “yet we know the M23 rebels are so close” to the city. “They [M23] really come to our help. They should move in and secure the entire city, quickly. We were so hopeful they would do that yesterday [Friday] night. But now, much to our surprise, they still haven’t done so. We are worried because the more they delay; the more people suffer and our property is looted and damaged,” the businessman, who preferred anonymity, told The New Times on Saturday, February 15. ALSO READ: EAC, SADC leaders approve harmonised plan for FDLR neutralisation ‘Wazalendo and FDLR took over’ “There is a big security vacuum in the city now. After the bulk of the Congolese government army and its allies fled yesterday, criminals that include street kids, and militia groups such as Wazalendo and FDLR took over and they are looting and destroying property. Our wish, really, is that the rebels come in and rescue us. Had they completely come in and taken over, we could be enjoying peace and stability now just as what happened when they took over Goma.” ALSO READ: M23 threatens to move on Bukavu to ‘protect our people’ The FDLR is a DR Congo-based terrorist militia founded by remnants of the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. ALSO READ: Why genocide ideology doesn’t dissolve three decades after dispersion of genocidaires “The looting started last night and continued this morning and it continues up to now. There is a vacuum now and this will also lead to unnecessary deaths of civilians. M23 to take over quickly to stop the chaos.” ‘Organise local vigilance committees to maintain security’ The rebels on Saturday issued a statement in which they, among other things, urged the people of Bukavu to organise local vigilance committees to maintain security and to appoint honest and responsible individuals to lead them. The AFC/M23 statement adds: “We call on the population to remain in control of their city and not to give in to panic. The AFC/M23 reaffirms its commitment to defending the people of Bukavu against the undisciplined FARDC forces and their allies should they attempt to return and commit further atrocities.” COMMUNIQUÉ OFFICIEL DE L’ALLIANCE FLEUVE CONGO DU 15 FÉVRIER 2025 pic.twitter.com/H3yMdGiHv0 — Lawrence KANYUKA (@LawrenceKanyuka) February 15, 2025 But the businessmen from Bukavu do not find this reassuring enough. They are worried that “even though good, the idea of the local population forming local vigilance committees to maintain security” has a loophole because the militia such as Wazalendo and FDLR in the city would start engaging in targeted reprisal attacks and kill people. “These militias know the people and whoever would be on this local vigilance committees would be targeted. We would not be safe this way. M23 needs to come to our rescue.” The war between a Congolese government army coalition that included FDLR, over 10,000 Burundian troops, 1,600 European mercenaries, and South Africa-led SADC forces, against M23 rebels started in 2021. Last month, close to 300 European mercenaries who survived the rebels’ advance on Goma surrendered and were given safe passage, through Rwanda, to return home. VIDEO: Corneille Nangaa on capture of Goma, FDLR, and march to Kinshasa M23 is a member of a larger rebel coalition, Alliance fleuve Congo (AFC), created in December 2023. The AFC says it is fighting for governance that supports basic human rights, secures all citizens, and addresses the root causes of conflict. Its leaders have vowed to uproot tribalism, nepotism, corruption, and genocide ideology, among other vices, widespread in DR Congo. At Rusizi 1 Border Post on Saturday morning, the usual bustle was replaced by a subdued scene, with Rwandan immigration officers busily processing a handful of travellers on the Rwandan side and no similar activity on the DR Congo side. A Congolese couple that has just come from an area of Bukavu so close to the border says that part of the city is calm, with no much movement. The lady, who prefered anonymity, said: There is no one on the other side as offices are closed. There are no police officers, no DGM... pic.twitter.com/U4BHOqkXqp — The New Times (Rwanda) (@NewTimesRwanda) February 15, 2025 About an hour after the border post opened for normal operations, at 6 a.m., the first group of Congolese leaving Rusizi was cleared to head to Bukavu. Although the border—open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.—typically sees around 100 people gathering at each end at opening time, in the morning there were fewer than 10 people: six from Rusizi bound for Bukavu and three going in the opposite direction. Leon Lubula, an economics student at Université Catholique de Bukavu, was among the group returning home, early in the morning. A regular cross-border trader, Lubula told The New Times that: “I’m not really worried. I’m going home, and if I detect any trouble, I’ll return to Rwanda. I’m not too concerned about M23 because I believe they’re bringing us peace.” While immigration officers on the Rwandan side were busy processing travellers, the DR Congo side remained empty, and inactive.
