The AFC/M23 rebels are disappointed that their good-faith unilateral withdrawal from Uvira city has not brought any meaningful peace there.
The rebels leadership told James Swan, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).
Swan is currently visiting Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, where he was received on Friday.
Goma is under the control of the battle hardened rebels that seized the strategic Goma City in February last year.
The rebels represented by represented by Corneille Nangaa and Bertrand Bisimwa, respectively coordinator and deputy coordinator of the movement held face to face discussions with the UN official in Goma.
Corneille Nangaa presented the socio-economic and security situation of the areas under rebels control, where, according to him, the security situation has clearly improved.
“For the past 15 months, we have been guaranteeing our population access to all essential social services, including health, education, water, electricity, sanitation and cross-border trade with our neighbors, despite the blockade of the banking system imposed by the Government of Kinshasa,” Nangaa said.
“The fluidity of trade corridors and humanitarian aid routes via Goma and Bukavu testifies to the effectiveness of the governance implemented by the AFC-M23,” said Corneille Nangaa, Coordinator of the AFC/M23.
According to the AFC/M23 coordinator, all civilian services are secure, and the movement is, in his view, progressively rehabilitating and constructing basic infrastructure.
He believes that MONUSCO personnel, UN staff, and the entire humanitarian community present in Goma before their arrival can attest to the difference between the situation before and after the AFC/M23 took control of the city, emphasizing that the protection and well-being of the population remain central to stabilization efforts.
While Goma and Bukavu are said to be stabilized, the AFC/M23 is concerned about the situation in Uvira, whose stabilization process has reportedly been interrupted following international pressure demanding the movement’s withdrawal from the city.
According to Corneille Nangaa, local populations there are exposed to threats, atrocities and an ideology which he describes as genocidal, attributed to the government of Kinshasa and its allies, including Burundian troops, the FDLR, foreign mercenaries and the Wazalendo armed groups.
“Despite sending numerous alerts to the Qatari, American, and African Union mediators regarding the ongoing massacre targeting the civilian population of Uvira, Minembwe, and the surrounding areas, our response has been ineffective.”
“Our withdrawal in good faith, intended to give peace a chance, has brought no real change. On the contrary, the situation has worsened, and entire localities are being emptied of their inhabitants who are fleeing insecurity, persecution, looting, rape, and bombings (drones, combat aircraft and helicopters, etc.) by government forces,” noted Nangaa.
