By Frank Kamuntu
Kinshasa, DRC: Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has vowed to restore government authority in the country’s eastern regions amid an ongoing offensive by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who have seized control of the strategic city of Goma and are reportedly advancing further south. In a fiery televised address, Tshisekedi emphasized a “vigorous and coordinated response” against what he called “terrorists,” declaring that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) would not bow to humiliation or defeat.
“We will fight, and we will triumph,” Tshisekedi said, rallying the nation behind the Congolese military’s effort to regain control of the region. The president criticized the international community for its “inaction” in the face of the escalating conflict, as the M23’s months-long offensive continues to displace hundreds of thousands of people, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The city of Goma, located on the shores of Lake Kivu, has been at the heart of the rebel assault, with widespread shortages of food, water, and electricity as the fighting rages. According to the United Nations, around 500,000 people have been forced from their homes, and the humanitarian situation is becoming increasingly precarious.
Tshisekedi’s speech came as an East African regional summit called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, but the president has remained firm in his refusal to engage directly with the M23 rebels. Instead, Tshisekedi insists on dialogue with Rwanda, accusing the neighboring country of backing the rebel group. This position has strained relations with other regional leaders, including Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, who has rejected the claims and voiced frustration over South Africa’s involvement in the issue.
In the backdrop of the crisis, the presence of regional and UN peacekeepers has added to the tension. Thirteen South African peacekeepers lost their lives in the conflict, leading to heated exchanges between Rwanda and South Africa, with Kagame warning of potential confrontation if necessary.
Despite international calls for Rwanda to pull its forces from DR Congo, including threats from the UK and Germany to suspend aid, Kagame has maintained that Rwanda’s involvement is justified due to alleged Congolese support for militias seeking to destabilize Rwanda. This has fueled an already volatile situation, with fears of further escalation and a broader regional conflict.
As M23 rebels consolidate their control over Goma and push south toward Bukavu, the international community is scrambling to find a solution. Angola, which has previously mediated failed peace talks, has called for urgent dialogue between Tshisekedi and Kagame to prevent further bloodshed and stabilize the region.
In the same vein, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa and government officials of “lying” and “distorting” talks between the two statesmen in his Wednesday statement to South Africans.
Taking to social media after the release of the tweets and statements by the South African government, Kagame called out his counterpart, fuelling speculation that relations between the two governments had taken a nosedive.
Ramaphosa was forced to make a public statement after the deaths of 13 South African peacekeeping troops as tensions escalated in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between its military and the rebel group M23 which is said to be funded by Rwanda.
In his official account on X, Kagame said he has held two conversations this week with Ramaphosa on the situation in eastern DRC, including earlier on Wednesday.
“What has been said about these conversations in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks and even lies. If words can change so much from a conversation to a public statement, it says a lot about how these very important issues are being managed,” he said.
In his statement, Ramaphosa said the fighting was “the result of an escalation by the rebel group M23 and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) militia engaging the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and attacking peacekeepers from the Sadc Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).”
Kagame did not take lightly to this; “A few important clarifications for the record: The Rwanda Defence Force is an army, not a militia. SAMIDRC is not a peacekeeping force, and it has no place in this situation. It was authorised by Sadc as a belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the DRC government fight against its own people, working alongside genocidal armed groups like FDLR which target Rwanda, while also threatening to take the war to Rwanda itself,” he said.
“President Ramaphosa has never given a ‘warning’ of any kind, unless it was delivered in his local language which I do not understand.
“He did ask for support to ensure the South African force has adequate electricity, food and water, which we shall help communicate.
“President Ramaphosa confirmed to me that M23 did not kill the soldiers from South Africa, FARDC did,” Kagame said.
“If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.”
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