M23 vows to “not passively watch” when Banyamulenge is bombed and massacred by the DR Congo

The deputy coordinator of the AFC/M23 insurrection, Bertrand Bisimwa, stated on Tuesday, March 4, that the DR Congo army coalition’s drones, Sukhoi fighter aircraft, and mortars target and demolish villages in South Kivu Province that are home to unarmed Banyamulenge residents.

Less than a week has passed since AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said that the Congolese government was still deploying assault drones directed by MONUSCO intelligence to massacre civilians in Minembwe, Uvira, and the adjacent areas of South Kivu Province.

To no avail, the Banyamulenge community has previously appealed to the world community to step in and put an end to the ruthless murders that are being committed against them in Minembwe, South Kivu Province.

In a post on X, Bisimwa claimed that the Congolese army coalition, which consists of Burundian military forces, Rwandan genocidal militias known as the FDLR, and Congolese militias known as Wazalendo from Uvira and those who fled Bukavu, is attacking peaceful populations with impunity on behalf of the Kinshasa regime.

Remaining members of the masterminds of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi established the FDLR, a terrorist group located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“The Banyamulenge populations that the regime assimilates to Rwandans heavily inhabit these villages, which is the reason for these attacks,” he continued.

“These killings of defenseless citizens are intolerable and abhorrent. The AFC/M23 will not stand by and watch while innocent citizens are massacred if the world has decided to keep quiet about the criminal underworld of the Kinshasa dictatorship, which is being babysat by some powers.

In 2021, the FDLR, more than 10,000 Burundian soldiers, 1,600 European mercenaries, and South Africa-led SADC forces joined the Congolese government army alliance to fight the M23 insurgents. M23 is currently a member of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a broader rebel group that was established in December 2023.

After defeating a sizable Congolese army coalition that included hundreds of European mercenaries, FDLR, Wazalendo, Burundian armed forces, South African-led SADC forces, and UN peacekeepers, the rebels have been advancing across North and South Kivu provinces since January, liberating large areas of land.

On January 27, the rebels took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, after intense fighting sparked by persistent violations of a previous truce by the Congolese army coalition. They then promptly proceeded to secure and stabilize the situation and restore order in Goma.

The rebels made another move as the security situation in South Kivu worsened due to reports of atrocities, bloodshed, and looting spread by the Congolese army coalition.

On February 15, they moved south to seize the regional capital, Bukavu, after first seizing the vital Kavumu airport. Prior to it, they were being urged to secure the entire city and go in as soon as possible. People in North and South Kivu regions that are under rebel control are glad that the Congolese army coalition is not interfering with their tranquility.

However, there is still a concerning level of violence and insecurity in South Kivu’s Hauts-Plateaux, especially in Minembwe and the adjacent territories, which is the Banyamulenge’s homeland.

A Congolese lawyer from the Banyamulenge community named Moise Nyarugabo previously reported on X that all three Banyamulenge villages were simultaneously attacked on Monday morning.

According to him: “Since 6:30 am local time, the Banyamulenge villages of Magaja, Bivumu, Bikirikiri, Kabara, and Hanzi in the Bibokoboko locality in the middle plateaus 20 km from Baraka in the territory of Fizi have been under fire.” The attackers are from Kafulo, Kakuku, Lweba, and Baraka.

The villages of Bilalo Mbili and Mikenke. Since five in the morning, Rwitsankuku and Pointzero in the Itombwe sector of Mwenga territory have been under fire. 3. Fire has been going on since 7 a.m. in the communities of Kivumu and Biziba, Gipimo, and Nyagishasha in the Lulenge/Fizi sector, which is still in Fizi territory but this time in the highlands towards Minembwe.

In addition to forcing thousands of Banyamulenge to evacuate after their villages were set on fire, waves of violence in the area since August 2018 have claimed hundreds of lives. Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania were among the neighboring countries to which thousands of people fled.

The AFC is pushing for governance that protects all Congolese citizens, upholds fundamental human rights, and tackles the underlying causes of conflict.
Among other evils that are pervasive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, its leaders have pledged to eradicate corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and the ideology of genocide.