SADC “firmly denies claims” that it participated in joint FARDC-FDLR military operations against M23 in Goma

The Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebellion has claimed that its forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) carried out “a series of joint military operations” on April 11 in and around Goma, the rebel-held capital of North Kivu Province, in coordination with the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), the genocidal militia FDLR, and Congolese ethnic militias known as Wazalendo. The SADC has refuted these claims.

This comes one day after the AFC/M23 insurrection denounced “a series of joint military operations” that SADC forces conducted in and around Goma on Friday, April 11 in conjunction with the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), FDLR, and Wazalendo. The AFC/M23 and the government coalition clashed in Goma for the first time since the rebels seized over the vital city at around 10 p.m. on Friday in the neighborhoods of Lac Vert and Keshero.

The Congolese Tutsi community faces an existential threat from the FDLR, a UN-sanctioned organization established in 2000 by surviving members of the masterminds of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi.

AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka denounced the April 11 attacks in a statement issued on Saturday, April 12, claiming that they “threaten the stability and safety of civilians.”

Kanyuka stated that the attacks force the rebels “to demand the immediate withdrawal of [SADC] forces and constrain us to demand the immediate surrender of FARDC troops stationed within MONUSCO facilities to our organization.” He added that the attacks “violate the existing SADC agreements and consequently delay the rehabilitation of Goma airport.”

SADC Secretariat confirmed in a statement issued on April 14 that its Mission in DR Congo (SAMIDRC) “has not participated in any joint operations as claimed.” The SADC Secretariat called the rebels’ claims “inaccurate and deceptive.”

In accordance with an order from the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government, SAMIDRC is presently carrying out “a structured and coordinated withdrawal” from DR Congo, the statement reiterated.

On March 28, the rebels and the SADC mission negotiated a deal for the Southern African forces to leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

SADC vehemently denies these accusations. Contrary to claims, SAMIDRC has not taken part in any joint operations. “These claims are false and deceptive,” the statement said.

Among other vices that are pervasive in DR Congo, the AFC/M23 insurrection has pledged to eradicate corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and the genocide ideology propagated by the FDLR, a Rwandan genocidal group backed by DR Congo.