By Justin Kabumba, GOMA Congo
Congo’s military accused Rwanda of “no less than an invasion” after M23 rebels captured a key town on Monday. The military vowed that Congolese forces would defend their homeland, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions between the two Central African neighbors.
The statement from Gen.
Sylvain Ekenge, spokesman for the military governor of North Kivu province,
came hours after the town of Bunagana fell into the hands of the M23.
“The Rwandan defense forces
have this time decided to violate ... our territorial integrity by occupying
the border town of Bunagana,” the military said in a statement, adding that it
constituted “no less than invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
There was no immediate
reaction from the government of Rwanda, but the government there has strongly
denied accusations over the years that is supports the Congolese rebel group.
Many of the M23 fighters are Congolese ethnic Tutsis and Rwanda’s president is
of Rwandan Tutsi descent.
In a statement Monday, a
spokesman for the rebel group called on Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi to
open direct negotiations with them and said they seized the town only to make
it safe enough for civilians to return after they fled recent violence.
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“In the event of a new threat
against our positions or the civilian population, our movement’s troops have
received the order to follow and annihilate the threat no matter where it comes
from,” M23 spokesman Willy Ngoma said in the statement.
Relations between Rwanda and
Congo have been fraught for decades. Rwanda alleges that Congo gave refuge to
the ethnic Hutus who carried out the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed at least
800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The two countries have long accused
each other of supporting various rival armed groups.
Late last month, Rwanda’s
military accused neighboring Congolese forces of injuring several civilians in
cross-border shelling.
The M23 rose to prominence
more than a decade ago when its fighters seized Goma, the largest city in
Congo’s east which sits along the border with Rwanda. After a peace deal, many
of M23′s fighters were integrated into the national military.
Then earlier this year the
group appeared to make a comeback, launching an offensive against Congo’s
military after saying the government had failed to live up to its decade-long
promises.
The key town that was seized
Monday, Bunagana, is only 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Goma, which
also serves as a hub for international aid organizations and the U.N.
peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO.
Bunagana, near the border with
Uganda, is also an important transit point for goods being imported into Congo
from as far away as China.
ALSO READ: Rwanda-DR Congo tensions: Kagame, Tshisekedi talk on phone
In Uganda, police spokesman
Fred Enanga said Monday that more than 100 Congolese soldiers, fleeing fierce
fighting with rebels, crossed the border and “surrendered” to Ugandan
officials. He said the Congolese soldiers will be moved to Rutshuru, another
eastern Congo town near the Uganda border.
While the rebels claimed they
took the town of Bunagana in order to stabilize it, local leaders on Monday
urged Congo’s military to reclaim it.
“We deplore the M23 rebel
attack and call on the Congolese government to track down and neutralize these
rebel groups so that state authority can return,” said Innocent Ndagije, a
civic leader in Bunagana.
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