New protests against Rwanda in eastern DRC

New demonstrations against Rwanda and denouncing the “collaboration” of the international community with this country accused of supporting the M23 rebels took place on Thursday in two large cities in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, journalists from the AFP news agency have noted.

The mostly Tutsi rebels, M23 (“March 23 Movement”), backed by Rwandan army units, have been waging attacks for more than two years in North Kivu, where fighting has recently intensified near the provincial capital of Goma. . “Let Bunagana be free! Let Rutshuru be free! Let Masisi be free!”, chanted the protesters who gathered at the call of civil organizations (organizations, associations, trade unions) in Bukavu. The liberation of these areas “will come gradually despite many promises. Years pass, deaths, suffering and trauma are increasing in this part of the country (..) This must stop now,” said Adrien Zawadi, leader of the coordination office of civil. “Brother leaders, take your responsibilities in confronting this war of aggression”, is written on the posters, while the demonstrators also condemn “the conspiracy and hypocrisy of the international community that incites and tries to put out the fire in abusing the tolerance and good faith of the Congolese.” They have called for the “closing of the border with Rwanda” along with Uganda, which is also accused of supporting the rebels, but also for the “breaking of diplomatic relations” with some Western countries, especially the United States, England, and France. . In the eastern region of Tshopo, in Kisangani, activists of the civil movement, with loudspeakers and wearing a red scarf on their heads, have also called on President Félix Tshisekedi to “declare war against Rwanda” and “break diplomatic relations” with the West because of their claims to support Rwanda. With the slogan “stop the war in the East”, several hundred women protested on Wednesday in the capital Kinshasa, where several youth demonstrations targeted UN facilities and embassies at the end of last week and on Monday and cars were set on fire.