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On Saturday, Rwanda said two of its soldiers were being held captive after they were kidnapped by rebels in the DRC. For its part, Kinshasa accuses its neighbor of attacks on its soil. Senegalese President Macky Sall, who is also the current chairman of the African Union, expressed on Sunday his » serious concern », and calls on the two countries for calm and dialogue.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte Idrac
If calm returned this morning, on Sunday the fighting between the Congolese army, supported by blue helmets, and the rebel movement of the M23 took place north of Goma, in the territory of Rutshuru towards Runyo-nyi and Rugari in the border area of Rwanda.
This country is accused by Kinshasa of supporting the M23. On Sunday, villagers from Biruma, a town located about twenty kilometers from the Rwandan border captured two Rwandan soldiers, confirms the Congolese army. The Rwandan forces claim that these soldiers were arrested by the FDLR, another rebel group.
» Everything can go wrong “, worries the Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs Aïssata Tall Sall, joined by RFI. Facing « escalation risk », Senegal, at the presidency of the AU, therefore pleads for negotiations, under the leadership of the Angolan head of state. » President Macky Sall conferred with President João Lourenço of Angola, who not only replaced him as president of the summit [de l’UA ce week-end à Malabo, NDLR], but as a member of the geographic region where it all takes place. He therefore discussed with him to ask him to take the lead [la conduite, NDLR] negotiations under the cover of the African Union. »
Macky Sall is in contact with the Rwandan and Congolese presidents, says Aïssata Tall Sall. She herself spoke with her two counterparts. « We have good hopes of at least being able to silence the guns while waiting to arrive at the politico-diplomatic solution in the most urgent way in this sensitive part of Africa where there are already many humanitarian problems. and human rights. We must do everything to prevent this from getting worse. »
A new source of concern for the African Union, as relations between Rwanda and the DRC began to relax in 2019, after the election of Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi.
President Macky Sall expresses his deep concern about the escalation that is occurring.
Precarious calm on the ground
In eastern DRC, calm was precarious on Sunday after several days of clashes between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels. On Saturday, fighting broke out in the groups of Kibumba and Rugari, about thirty kilometers from Goma, the main town in the region. Again on Saturday, shelling was reported further north, towards Runyonyi in Rutshuru territory. The situation therefore remains extremely tense, reports our correspondent in the DRC, Coralie Pierret.
On the Goma-Rutshuru axis, road traffic resumed timidly this Sunday. Sign of a lull but which remains extremely precarious. » Fights can resume at any time “Warns Major Willy Ngoma, spokesperson for the M23 rebel movement. On Saturday, clashes took place in the territories of Rutshuru and Nyiragongo, several sources report, particularly in the groups of Kibumba, Rugari and Jomba. » On Saturday evening, the Fardc obtained reinforcements says a local civil society leader. » On Sunday, the M23 withdrew from certain areas “, he continues.
■ Responsibility for the crisis: the UDPS responds to the FCC
In the DRC, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, the presidential party, responds to the FCC which pointed yesterday on our antenna the responsibility of the Tshisekedi regime in the current crisis with the M23 rebellion in the province of North Kivu. For the UDPS, the fact of insecurity in the eastern part of the country is the consequence of the complicity of the Kabila regime.
No one is unaware that our army was led at one time by an officer of the Rwandan army; everyone is aware that it is Kabila who, through the mechanism of integration, reintegration, brought into our army Rwandan officers and Rwandan soldiers who continue to pose problems for our country. Félix Tshisekedi has to date never named a single officer, he works with what he has found […] We are in no way responsible for what happens. The FCC should be silent and apologize to the Congolese people for having plunged them into this state of insecurity for more than twenty years. Rather than seeking to lay the fault with the current power which inherited this situation.
Me Peter Kazadi, executive of the UDPS and provincial deputy in the city of Kinshasa
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