The Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) rebellion has warned that it will eliminate the threat at its source if the Kinshasa regime continues its attacks or provocations against civilians in Walikale. ALSO READ: DR Congo crisis: M23 rebels say Congolese army coalition stance delaying withdraw from Walikale On Thursday, April 3, rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, said, on X, that: “AFC/M23 informs the Congolese people that, contrary to reports circulating on social media, we have implemented our decision to reposition our forces in Walikale and its surroundings, in accordance with our press release. “If the forces of the Kinshasa regime continue their provocations or attacks against civilians in the liberated areas as well as against our positions, this gesture of goodwill will be automatically canceled and we will eliminate the threat at its source.” ALSO READ: DR Congo crisis: M23 rebels seize Walikale, genocidal militia’s strongholds - reports The rebels seized Walikale on March 19 but later decided to withdraw from the town to enforce a unilateral ceasefire declared on February 22. The ceasefire, according to the rebels, was meant to support peace initiatives aimed at fostering dialogue and addressing the root causes of the conflict in eastern DR Congo. ALSO READ: DR Congo crisis: M23 rebels pull out of Walikale ALSO READ: Rwanda welcomes de-escalation efforts in eastern DR Congo In a March 24 statement, Kanyuka emphasized that the continued presence of Congolese forces posed a major obstacle to the ceasefire and compromised ongoing peace efforts. The rebels continue to grow in strength and influence despite Western sanctions on their leaders. On Thursday, Joseph Stéphane Mukumadi, the former governor of Sankuru province, joined the rebellion and urged the Congolese to follow suit so as “to put an end to the dictatorship of the Kinshasa regime and allow the total liberation of our country.” ALSO READ: AFC/M23 rallies Congolese diaspora to join struggle Mukumadi joined the rebellion just fives days after Rex Kazadi, a candidate for DR Congo’s December 2023 presidential elections, also registered with the AFC/M23 on March 30, from Europe. The former governor denounced what he described as the nation being held hostage by a political minority, adding: There is a political class today that is holding the nation hostage and thinks that it alone and only it alone can eventually decide matters for millions of Congolese people. End last week, the rebels allowed the South African-led Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops to leave eastern DR Congo with their weapons and equipment. The southern African forces who surrendered after the rebels captured Goma, the capital of DR Congo’s North Kivu Province, in January, were part of the Congolese army coalition. ALSO READ: DR Congo crisis: M23 agrees to facilitate SADC troops withdraw In the past few months, Alliance Fleuve Congo has seen its numbers grow with the joining of several other Congolese armed groups and opposition politicians. In February, Twirwaneho, an armed self-defence group fighting to protect the Banyamulenge community in South Kivu Province announced that it had joined ranks with AFC/M23 to fight the Congolese government. This came shortly after the death of Twirwaneho’s leader, Michel Rukunda, who was killed in a drone attack carried out by Congolese forces. ALSO READ: Unarmed Banyamulenge civilians ‘still waking up under bomb explosions’ Led by Nangaa, the former chairman of the Congolese national electoral commission, Alliance Fleuve Congo is fighting for governance that supports basic human rights, secures all Congolese citizens, and addresses the root causes of conflict. ALSO READ: Kabila: DR Congo should stop blame games and fix its problems The rebellion has vowed to uproot tribalism, nepotism, corruption, and the genocide ideology spread by the DR Congo-backed Rwandan genocidal militia, FDLR, among other vices, widespread in DR Congo. FDLR is a DR Congo-backed terrorist militia founded in mid-2000 by remnants of the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda that poses an existential threat to the Congolese Tutsi community. ALSO READ: M23 are no terrorists, the Congolese army is – say Bukavu residents Fully integrated into the Congolese army coalition, the genocidal militia joined forces with Kinshasa’s allies with a plan to attack Rwanda. The militia’s genocidal ideology is the biggest threat to Rwanda, and the entire region. In a video message posted on X, on March 30, Nangaa told the Congolese diaspora that “our revolution will not be selective” and it “will not be a group of friends, nor a group of opportunists.” ALSO READ: Who are the M23 rebels in DR Congo? He added: “On the contrary, we open our doors without any distinction, to the best of you according to your field of expertise. This is to allow our country to meet all the challenges of the new era – a respected state, a reconciled people, and a dignified nation. Our revolution continues its inexorable march for more justice, more freedom, and prosperity in the unity of all Congolese.” Since January, the Congolese armed forces have suffered major losses in the war against AFC/M23 rebels. The Congolese army coalition comprised hundreds of European mercenaries, FDLR, Congolese ethnic militias called Wazalendo, Burundian armed forces, South African-led SADC forces, as well as UN peacekeepers. ALSO READ: Why genocide ideology doesn’t dissolve three decades after dispersion of genocidaires Following the heavy fighting triggered by constant violations of an earlier set ceasefire by the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) in coalition, on January 27, the rebels captured Goma, and quickly moved to secure and stabilise the situation and restore order there. Hundreds of Congolese soldiers surrendered and later joined the rebels. ALSO READ: Over 2,100 police officers, 890 Congolese soldiers join M23 in Bukavu As the security situation in South Kivu deteriorated amid reports of violence, looting, and abuses propagated by the Congolese army coalition, the rebels again reacted, first capturing the strategic airport of Kavumu, before moving south to capture the regional capital, Bukavu, on February 15. On March 19, they seized the town of Walikale which sits about 130 kilometers northwest Goma. It was the farthest west the rebels had reached during their rapid advance this year. ALSO READ: M23 wants talks but not in ‘toxic environment’ ALSO READ: M23 rebels say Congolese army coalition stance delays withdraw from Walikale Walikale has, for many year, been a stronghold of FDLR. Fighting between the Congolese army coalition and M23 rebels resumed in 2021. The M23 was created on May 6, 2012, due to numerous failures of the Congolese government, including Kinshasa’s refusal to implement a peace agreement signed on March 23, 2009. In January 2009, a former politico-military group formed about three years earlier, the Congrès national pour la défense du people (CNDP), had stopped rebellion after Kinshasa promised to, among others, integrate its fighters into the national army. Top government officials including the then defense minister Charles Mwando Simba – who passed away, in Belgium, in December 2016 – attended a ceremony held at Rumangabo military camp, about 45 kilometres north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, to welcome the first group of rebel fighters into the national army. A few days later, CNDP officials announced the “the de facto transformation of CNDP into a political party” recognized by the government –after their fighter’s integration into the national army. But about 11 months after denouncing rebellion and becoming a political party, everything was back to ground zero. At the time, a frustrated head of the ex- rebel group-turned political party, Désiré Kamanzi, resigned. “The fundamental reasons are, notably, the slowness in implementation of the agreements we have signed with the government since January,” Kamanzi announced, explaining that “we requested that there be holding of a regular national monitoring committee, but this was in vain.” Today, M23 is part of a larger and growing rebel coalition, Alliance Fleuve Congo, created in December 2023. A vast Congolese army coalition backed by Western countries including Belgium and comprising the Rwandan genocidal militia and Burundian forces worsened the security situation in eastern DR Congo.
