M23 spokesperson: It’s time for South African forces to withdraw from eastern DR Congo

Since the South African National Defense Forces (SANDF) have no business in areas controlled by the AFC and M23 rebels, it is imperative that they return home after being holed up at a UN base camp in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In an interview with The New Times in Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which the rebels took over last weekend, rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka emphasized this point on Tuesday, February 18.

Under the contentious SAMIDRC mission, SANDF was sent to eastern DR Congo to support a Congolese army coalition that, at full strength, at first included thousands of Burundian troops, European mercenaries, Rwandan genocidaires known as the FDLR, and a local militia group called Wazalendo in the fight against the M23 rebels. 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.

In July 1994, just after the murderous regime in Rwanda fell, the genocidaires were welcomed into eastern DR Congo, later Zaïre. They remained there, re-organizing and re-arming to invade Rwanda once more, but their attempts were always stopped. The underlying reason of the instability in the area and beyond, however, is the philosophy of genocide that they still propagate.

“We requested that they return home.”

“The African brothers who are living in the MONUSCO camp, the South Africans, we asked them to go back home,” Kanyuka stated when questioned about the whereabouts of the SANDF troops currently holed up in a MONSCO facility in Goma and another in Sake. We are free to allow them to use the corridor, as has been said numerous times. They currently find it impractical to use the airport. The airport is filled with booby traps. The explosions have left holes in the tarmac itself.

“They can still travel through Rwanda and return to their own country,” we informed them. Thus, we don’t have any issues. We informed them that it was time for them to return home, even if they were residing on a MONUSCO site.

Kanyuka responded, “We are still waiting on them,” when asked about the SANDF troops’ reaction. They are forced to inform them that it is time to return home.

The alliance of foreign forces stationed in eastern DR Congo, including SAMIDRC and FDLR, was found to have war objectives that went beyond defeating M23 to include attacking Rwanda, Kigali said early this month. According to a statement from the ministry of foreign affairs, “The fact that SAMIDRC is there to fight the people of that country and effectively bring war to Rwanda renders the argument that they were invited by the Government of the DRC void.”

Recent information from Goma regarding the findings “and the documentary evidence of attack preparations, planned together with the foreign forces fighting” in eastern DR Congo “indicate that combat objectives were not limited to defeating M23, but also attacking Rwanda,” the statement said.