There was hope last week that the rising violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could subside, after the feared M23 group agreed to hand over territories to the East African Community Regional Forces (EACRF).
And for most of a year, even recently, the security threat was largely viewed as being caused by the M23.
But a new report by the UN Panel of Experts says that communal violence has also increased in 2022, especially among the Yaka and Teke communities in the western parts of the country.
This week the UN Panel of Experts on the DRC said the violence in Kwamouth, in Mai-Ndombe province, 200 kilometers from Kinshasa, was a threat to collective security in DR Congo.
In the Report to the Security Council, the experts cited the Ugandan rebel group, the ADF, for having “continued to expand its area of operations and attack civilians in Beni and Lubero, in North Kivu and in southern Ituri”.
The ADF used improvised explosive devices in urban areas, opting for more visible attacks through well-established networks. “ADF continued to operate in small groups launching attacks simultaneously on multiple fronts.”
The report says that violence is increasing despite the application of a state of siege, which had been in effect since May 2021 in Ituri and North Kivu province. President Félix Tshisekedi had decreed this measure to combat the armed groups in these provinces. Under this arrangement, civil administrators and governors were replaced by military and police administrators.
According to the report, the violence continued “despite military operations carried out by the armies of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) and UN security forces ( Monusco)”.
“The fourth phase of Operation Shujaa, in September 2022, led to even MORE ADF attacks against civilians in retaliation, as had been observed in the past,” the experts say. Since November 30, 2021, the Ugandan Army has been in a joint operation with the Congolese Army in Ituri and North Kivu to hunt down Ugandan ADF rebels who have a link to ISIS.
“ADF continued to be considered as an option for recruits willing to join Da’esh (ISIS)…because Da’esh’s publicity increased ADF’s visibility. In its June 2022 Al-Naba newsletter, Da’esh encouraged recruits who had not joined jihad battlefields elsewhere to travel to its African provinces.
“In November, Da’esh posted a 20-minute propaganda video on ADF titled ‘Life of Jihad.’ This video showed ADF activities, as well as a staged execution imitating Da’esh,” the report says.
Terrorists have also adopted an ethnic profile, kidnapping hundreds of civilians and killing some of them, in retaliation against those who collaborate with the FARDC, the Congolese army, since 2021.
“The kidnapped Hutu youths were forcibly recruited into the ranks of the ADF,” the report says. The ADF intervened in North Kivu to cause the escape of 800 prisoners in August, of whom 400 to 600 were forcibly taken to the ranks of the terrorists. “On September 6, 2022, a 17-year-old boy recruited by ADF collaborators planted an improvised explosive device in front of the Congolese National Intelligence Agency (ANR) office in Butembo. The explosion injured two ANR agents.
This is the first attack involving an improvised explosive device aimed at a high-profile target in an urban environment,” the UN expert said.
In this context of daily violence, the M23 rebels have re-emerged in Rutshuru, in North Kivu, posing a real security problem that has ultimately damaged relations between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Amid accusations and counter-accusations between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the French government this week joined the US in condemning Rwanda’s alleged support for the M23. Paris called on Rwanda to abide by the decisions of regional leaders calling for dialogue. But Kigali hit back, first accusing Paris of ignoring the true causes of the conflict in the DRC, and also accusing Kinshasa of fabricating claims that the M23 had massacred civilians.
“Attempting to handle complex situations simply by repeating and amplifying false accusations by the DRC government cannot lead to solutions,” a statement from Kigali said on Wednesday.
