Goma: Some 3,000-4,000 Rwandan troops have been fighting alongside M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo, according to a UN expert report seen by AFP on Monday, which says Kigali has “de facto control” over the group’s operations.
North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been in the grip of the M23 (March 23 Movement) insurgency since late 2021, with the group seizing parts of the territory and establishing a parallel regime in areas under its control.
Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of supporting the Tutsi-led M23 rebel group. Kigali has never acknowledged that its troops are operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But a report commissioned by the UN Security Council said the Rwandan military’s “de facto control and management of M23 operations” made the country “responsible for M23’s actions”.
Rwandan military activity in Nyiragongo, Rutshuru and Masisi territories – all in North Kivu – “was decisive for the impressive territorial expansion achieved between January and March 2024” by M23, the report said.
Rwandan government spokesman Yolande Makolo accused the Democratic Republic of Congo of “constantly threatening war against Rwanda” and said Kigali “will continue to defend itself”.
The report’s researchers estimated that at the time of writing in April, Rwandan troops had “matched, if not surpassed” the number of M23 troops, believed to be around 3,000.
Until late 2023, Rwandan authorities publicly denied that their troops were operating alongside M23 rebels in North Kivu, but have not commented directly since then.
The report includes verified photographs, drone footage, video footage, testimony and intelligence that it says confirms the Rwandan army’s systematic border incursions.
Footage and photographs show uniformed men with artillery and armored vehicles with radar and anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as transport vehicles.
The UN special representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bintou Keita, told AFP that “M23 tends to dictate what (UN) peacekeepers can or cannot do” – taking a toll on rescue operations and local people.
She previously said Rwanda’s support “allows (M23) to make major territorial gains in eastern DRC”.
Washington’s UN envoy Stephanie Sullivan called on the Security Council to oppose the withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces from North Kivu.
