The Congolese forces FARDC have abandoned Kitchanga and fled from heavy artilery and bombardment by the battle hardened M23 rebels who claim they overun the town to stop killings of Congolese Tutsi.
M23 movement issued a short statement saying the Kinshasa regime is facilitating these killings which the rebels describe as a genocide against Congolese Tutsi people.
At about 4:45 p.m. Eastern DRC time on Thursday, the rebels overun Kitchanga and dislodged the government troops allied with FDLR which USA designated as a terrorist organization.
“The situation has just changed, they have just entered the city. The FARDC are no longer visible as was the case a few hours ago, ”a source on ground told local tabloid the POLITICO.
Kinshasa government has suffered repeated humiliation by M23 rebels that have seized many modern war equipment from government troops including capture of many villages and towns in North Kivu region.
The Kinshasa authorities have repeatedly blamed Rwanda for aiding the M23 rebels and Kigali strongly denies any involvement and urged DRC to handle its own domestic problems and stop dragging Rwanda therein.
The UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for the Great Lakes region, Huang Xia, urged the DRC and Rwanda to exercise maximum restraint and strive to defuse tensions through dialogue.
This statement by the Special Envoy expresses concern over reports of an incident involving a Congolese army (FARDC) military plane targeted by Rwandan army fire on January 24, 2023, in the border area between the two countries near Goma.
Huang Xia believes that the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and other regional instruments can help establish the facts surrounding this incident and clear up any misunderstandings.
The special envoy who said he was in contact with the leaders of the countries of the region to help defuse the tensions between Rwanda and the DRC, however, invited all the actors to remain committed and to respect the decisions taken during the mini- Summit of Heads of State in Luanda on November 23, 2022.
In addition, he called for a renewed commitment of the countries of the region and their partners to the full implementation of the Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation for the DRC and the region signed on February 24. 2013, nearly a decade ago, and underscores the full support of his Office, and that of the United Nations, to regional peace efforts.
