The Military Governor of North Kivu, the Congolese province where the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) has been attacking Army positions since 2021, has asked the local population «not to be an obstacle» to the insecurity situation in the country, following the mobilizations registered in the last two days against Rwanda.
In an official communiqué made public on Monday, he asked not to put obstacles to the measures put in place against foreign aggression in the territory of Rutshuru, a town near the border with Rwanda where intense fighting is taking place between the Army and M23 terrorists, according to the local newspaper ‘Politico’.
The rallies have taken place in the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, to take a stand against the support of the neighboring country to the rebel group, which has precipitated the expulsion of its ambassador from the Congolese territory in the last days.
According to local press reports, the demonstrators have even stormed the barrier at the entrance to Rwanda, for which General Constant Ndima has asked the population to be «fully vigilant», to remain united, to remain calm and to allow themselves to be protected by the defense and security forces.
«Once again, the military governor of the province of North Kivu asks the population to avoid becoming an obstacle to the actions carried out to defend the threatened integrity of our territory and to ensure the protection of the populations and their property,» he said in the letter.
Thus, he urged citizens to «refrain from organizing popular demonstrations likely to favor the infiltration of the enemy» and to avoid any kind of «useless» inter-community conflicts.
In the last week, the African Union has expressed its deep concern» about the situation in the country following advances by the M23 group.
The M23 has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against Army positions in North Kivu, despite the Congolese authorities and the M23 signed in December 2013 a peace agreement following fighting since 2012 with the Army, which was supported by UN troops.
Relations between DRC and Rwanda have gone through moments of crisis since the massive arrival in eastern DRC of Rwandan Hutus accused of having massacred Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. After a period of diplomatic relaxation, the conflict regained intensity in May, when the Congolese government summoned the Rwandan ambassador to denounce the country’s alleged support for the M23.
