African Union demands halt to fighting in eastern DR Congo

Voice of America

29-01-2025

The African Union and other regional bodies on late Tuesday called for an immediate halt to fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The M23 rebel group seized control of eastern Congo's largest city, Goma, on Monday.
According to some residents who spoke to VOA, Goma is calm after two days of heavy fighting. Residents who ventured out Wednesday saw bodies on the streets, some in military uniforms and others in civilian clothes.
The regional bodies called for M23 to withdraw from the city, a move security experts say will be difficult for the rebel group to accept.
The East African Community bloc has called for a summit to address the tension between the DRC and Rwanda, which Kinshasa accuses of backing M23. Rwandan authorities deny the charge. According to Congolese state media, President Felix Tshisekedi will not attend the talks.
Meanwhile, calm returned to Kinshasa on Wednesday, a day after angry protesters attacked the embassies of Belgium, France, Kenya and Uganda as well as Rwanda. The protesters accused the other countries of supporting Rwanda.
The embassies either condemned or expressed deep concern over the attacks.
The United States closed its embassy in Kinshasa to the public on Tuesday and called on its citizens to review their safety and travel plans. On Wednesday it advised Americans not to travel to the DRC.
Chacha Nyaigotti-Chacha, a Kenyan expert in international relations and diplomacy, said he does not think the protests will affect the DRC's relations with the affected countries.
In regard to the fighting in the east, the DRC's government needs to address and solve its internal problems, said Chrispin Mvano, a Congolese political and security researcher in Goma.
"The conflict in DR Congo isn't just about disputes with other countries,' Mvano said. 'It also stems from internal divisions among the Congolese people. Even as talks continue in Nairobi, lasting stability depends on resolving these internal issues. If Congolese leaders and communities don't engage in dialogue and address their differences in Kinshasa, the peace talks alone are unlikely to bring real stability."
The DRC is home to over 100 armed groups, many fighting for control of resources and mining areas. In the latest conflict, the Congolese army and the allied Wazalendo militia retreated from the city, with some soldiers surrendering at the U.N. peacekeeping base in Goma.
Great Lakes region security analyst Dismas Nkunda said Kinshasa needs to build a strong army to confront rebels.
"M23, they are very well-equipped. ... If the DRC government does not up its game, then it's going to be very difficult for them to be able to maintain [a] semblance of peace when they have well-armed and well-supported armed groups like M23," Nkunda said.
Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwama Wagner said in an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that more than half a million people in eastern Congo were displaced this month and that the humanitarian situation there is getting worse.