By Maria Konokhova, LUANDA
Angola
Angola has announced that it will deploy a contingent of troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following consultations with the country's authorities to support the army and regional forces in operations aimed at ensuring peace in the region.
It was noted that the main
objective of the troops that will be deployed is to help secure the areas
occupied by members of M23 and protect ceasefire monitors.
The statement also indicated
that the move follows decisions made at mini-summits held under the peace and
security process in eastern DRC. According to the statement, Angola is acting
in accordance with its responsibilities as a mediator within the framework of
the Luanda Process. The country is hosting talks in its capital, Luanda,
between the DRC and Rwanda, which stands accused by the Congolese government of
supporting the M23 rebellion - an accusation Rwanda denies.
The Congolese government has
reportedly responded to Angola's decision to send troops, saying that it would
welcome the deployment of soldiers to help in the fight against the rebels.
Last week, the rebels
announced a ceasefire to resolve the conflict with the DRC government. The
group stated that it had stopped fighting in accordance with the
recommendations and agreements accepted at a meeting held last November with
President of Angola Joao Lourenco and other regional meetings.
But the fighting reportedly
resumed hours after the rebels' press release on the ceasefire. Both sides of
the conflict accused each other of breaking the truce. Earlier, President Felix
Tshisekedi expressed doubts about the sincerity of the rebels' move, saying
that "several ceasefire commitments have been announced without being
respected."
The East African Community
(EAC) is leading a peace initiative to ensure a ceasefire and
peace in eastern DRC. Amid increasing tensions in the country and M23 advances
across North Kivu province in the east, in June 2022, the EAC established a
regional force to help stabilize the situation, deploying troops from member
states, including Kenya, Uganda,
Burundi, and South Sudan.
The Luanda summit, which was held in November last year
within the framework of the peace
process, concluded with the decision to cease hostilities starting on
November 25 by setting up a disarmament of M23 in the country under the control
of the DRC army and a multinational regional force.
However, in January this
year, M23 missed the agreed deadline to fully withdraw from the
previously occupied areas.
The current force is what’s
left of the original M23
Movement formed in April 2012. M23 was an offspring of the National
Congress for the Defence of the People, better known by its French acronym
CNDP, a rebel group which fought the DRC government between 2006 and 2009.
Both groups draw on a claim
that the Congolese Tutsi and other ethnic communities in north and south Kivu
are discriminated against. They are considered of Rwandan descent and are
commonly referred to as “Rwandophones”.
One of the consequences of
this discrimination is the presence of tens
thousands of refugees in the Africa Great Lakes region.
The majority of M23 rebel
combatants originate from North Kivu province and specifically from Masisi and
Rutshuru.
These territories are close to
the border of Rwanda where fighting takes place. They are extremely familiar
with this terrain and might enjoy local support from inhabitants. The city of
Goma is also within this vicinity.
The area of Rutshuru territory
alone is approximately 5,300km², equivalent to a fifth of Rwandan territory.
The region occupied by M23 borders Rwanda, Uganda, and DRC and has a huge
traffic of commercial trucks carrying goods from the Kenyan port of Mombasa
through Uganda to Goma and Bukavu in the DRC.
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