There is no internet and very impossible to make a phone call in Uvira City of South Kivu province.
“Kinshasa regime has just ordered the shutdown of all telecommunications networks in the city of Uvira and its surroundings in order to hush up its own abuses that are being committed in these entities where it has redeployed its so-called Cleaning units,” said Bertrand Bisimwa the political head of the M23 allied with AFC rebels.
The AFC/M23 rebels withdrew from Uvira City on January 17, and conditioned that the international community takes up to oversee the City. Monusco has since deployed it’s troops on ground.
Human Rights watch said the withdrawal of rebels has put civilians at grave risk from abusive Wazalendo militias.
Meanwhile, Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo, political coordinator of the Congo River Alliance / March 23 Movement (AFC/M23), said in an exclusive interview with press that the rebels alliance withdrawal was tactical.
“This withdrawal aimed to avoid unnecessary loss of life, prevent any escalation of violence, and demonstrate the movement’s commitment to a sustainable political solution, rather than a logic of permanent armed confrontation,” he said.
On the question of ongoing or past peace processes, Mr. Nangaa is particularly critical. He denounces superficial and opportunistic approaches, often dictated by external political interests or the desire to maintain an unsustainable status quo.
For him, only sincere, inclusive diplomacy free of political maneuvering can lead to lasting peace, capable of addressing the root causes of the crisis.
Addresses the ssue of plunder of natural resources, Nangaa says that this problem cannot be attributed solely to armed groups, but is rooted in a deeply entrenched system involving powerful politico-economic networks.
He accuses the Kinshasa regime of failing in its fundamental mission: to protect the nation’s wealth and put it at the service of the population’s well-being.
Nangaa also condemned tribalism, which he sees as an instrument of division and national fragmentation.
He calls for moving beyond ethnic divides to build a national project based on citizenship, justice, and equality for all Congolese.
