Movement between the two border posts between Rwanda and DR Congo in Rubavu District was brought to a standstill by riots in the Congolese border town of Goma on Monday, February 6. This was just over a day after regional leaders met in Bujumbura, Burundi to try to calm tensions in eastern DR Congo. Congolese citizens were seen near the border, in the Goma side, chastising both the UN peacekeeping force, MONUSCO, and the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF). ALSO READ: Kagame: ‘Congo leaders cannot make Rwanda the scapegoat’ According to reports from across the border, the riots also targeted Rwandans living in Goma and Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese, accusing them of collaborating with M23, a rebel group operating in the east of DR Congo. The demonstrators in Goma erected road barricades, and forced businesses to close as they called for the departure of the EAC regional force from the country, accusing them of not fighting the M23 rebels. The rebels recently gained significant ground against the Congolese military and its militia coalition involving groups such as the Rwandan genocidal militia, FDLR. The latter was formed by remnants of the masterminds of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. According to a few Congolese nationals who crossed into Rwanda, the riots which intensified Monday afternoon, are supposed to last between five and six days. It is reported that Lutte Pour Le Changement (LUCHA), a group based in Goma, organised the protests, urging traders to suspend work on Monday to join the demonstrations. In Goma, youths vandalised some shops and looted. Samuel Semagene, an elderly father of nine from the Birere suburb of Goma crossed the border to Rwanda on Monday morning at around 6:00am for his regular retail vegetable business errands. He said riots in his hometown affected cross-border trade. “We are brothers and sisters. Clearly, right now I am sitting here in the market, and working with our Rwandan colleagues. There is no need for violence,” Semagene told The New Times. Ismael Mwamba, another Congolese businessman who lives and works in Rwanda, was stranded at Rubavu Cross Border Market in the early morning hours, fearful of what his compatriots could do to him once they saw him entering his country, from Rwanda. “When unrest broke out in Goma, Rwandans were the most targeted. They are victimized a lot,” he said, fearing that if he crossed to the other side, an angry mob would not spare him. Despite the fact that the borders are officially, open, peace loving Congolese and Rwandans along the common border are troubled by the rising tide of violence coming from the DR Congo side. The Executive Secretary of Gisenyi Sector, Jean Bosco Tuyishime, warned people to be careful and avoid unnecessary movements owing to the volatility of the situation across the border. “We urge residents to be careful. The situation in Goma is unpredictable. People should avoid unnecessary crossing until normalcy returns,” he told The New Times. According to data from the District, about 10,000 people at present cross the Petite Barrière Border Post, every day, compared to the 50,000 people that crossed the border before the Covid-19 pandemic.
