The M23 rebels have accused Kinshasa of mobilising a new offensive, and the international community of complicity in a plot to give misleading information about the conflict.

Speaking to The EastAfrican from Rumangabo, a sprawling military garrison 40 kilometres north of Goma that the rebels captured from government forces in August, Colonel Sultani Makenga, the head of M23’s military high command, said the rebels have ceased military operations in deference to President Museveni.

(Read: Great Lakes group pushes for ‘regional solution’ in DRC)

“We don’t have any ceasefire with the Congolese government, and the only reason we are not fighting is that Museveni asked us to stop, as he sought regional efforts to solve our problems, and we respect him as a regional leader.

“What we do next depends on what comes from that process, and what Kabila does next,” Col Makenga said, adding that he has information that the Congolese armed forces are mobilising for a major offensive.

Regional efforts

President Museveni has been leading regional efforts, as chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, to stem the escalation of the conflict that could lead to what the region witnessed in the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003.
The M23 rebels and government forces are just 25 kilometres apart, north of Goma.

The rebels say with the weapons they have taken from fleeing government forces, they could take over Goma. The rebels have heavy weapons, including anti-aircraft guns, that they have used to defend themselves against attacks by government forces and Monusco, the UN’s stabilisation mission in DR Congo.

Col Makenga refutes allegations that they are being funded by Rwanda, saying they defected from the army with enough weaponry; have captured territory, including the third largest barracks in the DR Congo; and he says the citizens have supported them because they believe in their cause.

Although they don’t rule out a regime change in Kinshasa as a solution to their grievances, the rebels — who say they are fighting for their right to be Congolese citizens, and for the enforcement of the March 23, 2009 agreement under which the former National Congress for the Defence of the People was integrated into government — deny intending to carve a new state out of Congo.

In the areas under the control of the M23 rebels, the Congolese flag is flown, and movement between those areas and other parts of the country is not restricted. Some M23 rebels wear battle fatigues that still bear Congolese army insignia — as some of them having only recently deserted the national army.

Col Makenga reiterated claims by his political leaders that DR Congo’s President Joseph Kabila is fanning conflict in the region by arming militia.

He also denied that M23 is giving sanctuary to General Bosco Ntaganda, commonly known as “Terminator,” and head of the a breakaway faction of the CNDP. Gen Ntaganda has been charged by the ICC with crimes against humanity.

Eastern DRC has degenerated into a battleground for various militia — some are allied to the regime in Kinshasa, while others, like Raia Mutomboki, have taken up arms to defend the population against rape and killings by the Congolese army.

Makenga’s remarks came as Rwanda and Uganda became the subject of renewed UN accusations of supporting the rebels logistically and militarily.

The M23 head of communication, Amani Babu, described the accusations as further evidence of Kabila’s “characteristic flip-flopping on any initiatives capable of bringing lasting peace to the Congo.”

“We are really disappointed by the report of the UN experts, but that is not new. What we find more disappointing is the Congo government’s reaction to the report, calling for sanctions against senior Ugandan and Rwandan officials,” Mr Babu said.

“The reason Kinshasa does not want its neighbours to be part of the solution is that most of the negative forces, such as FDLR and ADF-Nalu, that are threatening the neighbouring countries, are Kinshasa’s allies. So if you solve the problem, then you will deprive Kabila of proxies,” he said.

In a report released last week, UN experts accused Rwanda’s Minister of Defence General James Kabarebe, Permanent Secretary in the Defence Ministry Lt-Gen Jacques Nziza, and army Chief of Staff Lt Gen Charles Kayonga of being directly involved in mobilising and raising funds for M23.

Mr Babu says the allegations that have been levelled against Kampala are ridiculous, and intended to scuttle ongoing attempts at dialogue.

“When we were about to capture Goma, it was President Kabila himself who called Museveni to ask us to stop fighting, and it is he (Museveni) who called our chairman Bishop Runiga to Kampala to negotiate a peaceful solution,” he said.

“It is unfortunate that he has not broken his habit of turning the very people who are helping him into scapegoats. Today it is Rwanda and tomorrow it is Uganda. We wanted to end this through dialogue but it is becoming increasingly clear that Kinshasa does not want to talk,” Mr Babu added.

By MICHAEL WAKABI and GAAKI KIGAMBO in Rumangabo, North Kivu.