Days after the East African Community (EAC) met over the escalating conflict in eastern , leader from the also held an extraordinary summit on Friday just outside Harare, Zimbabwe, to discuss the recent developments in the region.
“Escalating hostilities in eastern Congo have created a dire situation. We meet here to seek a lasting solution to end the challenges facing the DRC people,” Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in his opening statement at the meeting.
“People in eastern Congo have suffered for far too long time. While we pause to mourn our loss, our resolve to ensure collective security cannot be shaken.”
Diplomatic stand-off between Rwanda and South Africa
The Zimbabwean leader, who currently is chairing the rotating leadership of SADC, confirmed the bloc’s while stressing how the conflict in the had started to weigh heavily on diplomatic relations throughout the region.
This comes after 13 SADC troops from and three from Malawi were killed last week in clashes with fighters belonging to the March-23 (M23) movement.
Most governments throughout the region – including South Africa – but also believe that M23 is propped up and supplied with weapons by the – a charge which Kigali denies.
In the course of recent days, South African and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, even appeared to be heading for a historic fall-out over this charge, with Ramaphosa demanding a ceasefire from Kagame’s government and Kagame openly threatening South Africa with retaliation in response.
The Rwandan leader accused Ramaphosa of lying and distorting the facts on the ground, adding that “South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator.”
“And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day,” Kagame’s statement concluded.
Ramaphosa meanwhile stressed that “South Africa’s military presence in the eastern DRC is not a declaration of war against any country or state,” demanding “the reversal of territorial expansion by the M23” and “the exit of external forces from the DRC.”
A conflict brewing for 150 years
Kagame, who has been leading Rwanda for 25 years, meanwhile is used to hearing a more accommodating rhetoric from the regional powerhouse, South Africa.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki once urged the DRC not to treat M23 as invading foreigners from Rwanda but to listen actively to their grievances.
M23 consists mainly of members of a Tutsi clan, who were moved to the present-day DR Congo during the partition of Africa in the 1880s, while a large part of the clan went to present-day Rwanda.
With Tutsis also being the main victims of the , any criticism against the ethnic group is typically met with resentment by Kigali; Kagame himself is Tutsi.
While South African President Ramaphosa attended the meeting in Harare, DRC leader Felix Tshisekedi failed to pitch in person and was reportedly following the proceedings online, which only might have fanned the flames of anger in Kigali further.
A traumatized population
As hostilities appear to be mounting, experts are increasingly calling for unity and a peaceful end to the conflict. Numerous humanitarian organisations as well as several United Nations agencies have described the situation in areas around the city of in the eastern DRC as “critical,” with reports of citizens having to go for days without vital supplies.
Francis Akili, coordinator of the Kinshasa-based humanitarian NGO Action Asante, told DW that everyone in the eastern DRC is affected by the recent escalation, especially those in the North Kivu province:
“As a humanitarian worker, I can confirm that the crisis has led to a severe lack of basic necessities such as water and electricity, exacerbating an already critical situation. This not only impacts daily survival but also creates a deep sense of fear and anxiety among the population, leading to widespread psychological distress.”
At the same time, fighting between the DRC military and its allies and the M23 movement has also intensified once more in recent days, with M23 rebels declaring that they are hoping to march on Kinshasa and take over the government.
Displacement, rape and murder
Meanwhile, UN agencies confirm that large swathes of the local population continue to suffer multiple instances of trauma. Speaking from Geneva on Friday, United Nations Human Rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said that hostilities had expanded towards South Kivu following the M23 takeover of Goma.
“Reports indicate that M23 has progressed further south towards Bukavu. Since the start of the crisis, bombs have struck at least two IDP [internally displaced person] sites, causing civilian casualties,” he said.
“We have also documented summary executions of at least 12 people by M23 between 26 and 28 January. Our Office has also documented cases of conflict-related sexual violence by the army and allied Wazalendo fighters in Kalehe territory. We are verifying reports that 52 women were raped by Congolese troops in South Kivu, including alleged reports of gangrape.”
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk agreed in a statement that the latest escalation could result in a further spike of sexual violence being used as a weapon of war.
Talks only leading to further talks
Harare-based political analyst Dereck Goto told DW that the EAC and SADC needed to join forces to demand an end to the conflict in eastern Congo, since the DRC is a member of both countries.
“That should also include asking Rwanda not to support M23 and fortifying governance structures in DRC so that it is able to reach out to people in Goma,” he said.
Akili agrees that the EAC and SADC need to work together push the warring parties to put down their arms, adding that the suffering has been made worse by thousands of people also being displaced due to the conflict since the beginning of the year in eastern Congo.
At the end of the summit, leaders agreed that they would indeed convene with the EAC as a matter of urgency in a bid to resolve the situation, though little more is known about the meeting at the present.
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) meanwhile confirmed that continues to receive urgent requests from civilians for protection, and that it was working with other UN agencies and their partners to ensure their safety.
Edited by: Sertan Sanderson
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