SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa (left), President of Zimbabwe and SADC Chairperson Emmerson Mnangagwa and SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) extraordinary summit in Harare on January 31, 2025. The resolution of the crisis in the DRC will require a delicate balance of military and diplomatic efforts based on an honest assessment of the root causes of the conflict, says the writer. Picture: Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP
Dr. Sizo Nkala
FIGHTING in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province between the March 23 (M23) rebel group and the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) backed by the Southern African Development Community Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC) and the United Nations Organization Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) has intensified.
The M23, who according to a 2024 report by the United Nations Group of Experts are supported by Rwanda and sometimes even allegedly operating alongside the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF), claimed on Monday 27 January to have captured the key city of Goma, the capital of DRC’s North Kivu province following days of intense fighting.
In a press release published on the X platform, the M23 said that the 48-hour deadline it had granted to the FARDC troops had lapsed and instructed all concerned troops to hand over their weapons and military equipment to MONUSCO.
The rebel group further requested the government forces in Goma to gather at the Stade de I’Unite before 3 am on Monday claiming that the city of Goma will be under the occupation of the M23 forces after the stated deadline. In a triumphant tone, the M23 statement claimed that “the liberation of the city has been successfully carried out and the situation is under control.”
On Tuesday the M23 seemed to have consolidated its control of Goma by bringing the international airport under its control. Hundreds of government forces were gathered at the Stade de I’Unite for disarmament by the M23.
The M23’s advance comes on the back of the gains it made in recent weeks which have successfully captured some strategic towns in North Kivu including the mining town of Masisi and the port town of Minova which both serve as critical supply routes to the city of Goma which is home to hundreds of thousands of humanitarian aid recipients.
The group also captured the strategic Sake town at the beginning of 2024. Various media reports claimed that about 100 FARDC soldiers and hundreds more European mercenaries who had been fighting alongside government forces surrendered their weapons to the MONUSCO forces at the instruction of the M23 who threatened to burn them alive.
If these reports are true, it would mark the first time the M23 rebels have captured the prized city of Goma since 2012 when they occupied the city before they were pushed out by the FARDC forces with the help of the heavy sanctions imposed on Rwanda by the western governments. However, the rebel movement regrouped in 2021 and gradually captured an increasing amount of territory in the eastern DRC reportedly with the help of the Rwandan government. These revelations have caused diplomatic tensions between Rwanda and the DRC which have at times threatened to break down into armed clashes. During his presidential elections campaign in 2023, the DRC President Felix Tshisekedi was quoted as saying “I’ve had enough of invasions and M23 rebels backed by Kigali. If you re-elect me and Rwanda persists … I will request parliament and Congress to authorise a declaration of war. We will march on Kigali.” Rwanda on its part has accused the DRC government of backing the Hutu-led Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (DFLR), which it says is made up of Hutu extremists and those who participated in the 1994 genocide and intend to overthrow Paul Kagame’s government. Following the recent fighting, the DRC has cut diplomatic ties with Rwanda.
The diplomatic fallout is likely to go beyond the two countries and engulf other countries involved in the DRC conflict. The South African National Defence Forces (SANDF) has confirmed that it lost 13 soldiers who were involved in fending off the recent advances of the M23 towards Goma under both the MONUSCO and the SAMIDRC.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had what would have been a tense phone call with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in which they discussed the possibilities of a ceasefire.
The East African Community (EAC) chairperson, Kenyan President William Ruto, has called for an Extraordinary Summit to discuss how the conflict in eastern DRC could be de-escalated. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) including major powers like the US and France have also called for an immediate ceasefire.
The African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC) will meet to discuss the situation in the DRC. However, one wonders if the sudden loud calls for a diplomatic solution will be followed up by sustainable action. We have become accustomed to these episodes of loud calls for diplomatic solutions every time there is an escalation but nothing substantial is done to end the conflict.
This lack of commitment from the international community to address the DRC conflict has contributed to the victory of the M23. Why were there no emergency meetings when the Luanda process in which Angola was mediating the dialogue between the DRC and Rwanda collapsed just a month and a half ago?
The DRC government’s own muddled and clumsy handling of the crisis is also a cause for concern.
The government forcefully demanded the withdrawal of MONUSCO last year blaming it for failing to contain the rebels only to turn around a few months later asking the UNSC to renew the mandate of the mission citing the advances of the M23. The government also pushed for the withdrawal of the EAC Regional Force (EACRF) which had been deployed to fight the rebels, replacing it with another regional force, the SAMIDRC. Amid reports of inadequate funding and partial deployment, the latter has proved itself unfit for purpose.
The resolution of the crisis in the DRC will require a delicate balance of military and diplomatic efforts based on an honest assessment of the root causes of the conflict.
* Dr. Sizo Nkala is a Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Africa-China Studies.
** The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of The African.