On Tuesday, the Democratic Republic of Congo slammed Rwanda for being on their side, financing, and arming the M23 rebel group, which captured Bunagana, a key trading hub near the Ugandan border. A day after M23 rebels had conquered the town of Bunagana in the eastern region of North Kivu, the Congolese communications ministry issued a statement saying, “We will defend every millimeter of our land.”
The statement quoted Denis Mukwege, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, as saying that Congo has been the subject of attack, most recently by the M23, “whose assistance from Rwanda has been recognized by all for decades.” Rwandan troops were said to be in the Congolese army on Monday.
“The Democratic Republic of Congo government knows our requests and has no feedback yet. We shall keep capturing different parts of the country including Goma city because our soldiers are ready to fight”, said M23 spokesperson Major Willy Ngoma
M23 rose to prominence more than a decade ago when its fighters seized Goma, the largest city in DRC’s east, which sits along the border with Rwanda. According to the United Nations, 25,000 people escaped the violence on Sunday 12th June 2022. According to Shafiq Sekandi, Uganda’s resident district commissioner for Kisoro district, the new conflict has resulted in more than 30,000 Congolese asylum seekers and 137 DRC troops fleeing into Uganda on Monday.
