FARDC, M23 rebels trade blame for fighting that disrupted DRC peace talks

Children look at FARDC (Armed Forces of the DRC) soldiers riding in a vehicle in a military position in Mirangi, close to the frontline and the town of Kibirizi, controlled by the M23 rebellion, North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in May 2024. (Alexis Huguet/AFP)

M23 rebels accuse the FARDC of violating its airspace, which it says was meteorologically impossible.Clashes on Sunday disrupted ongoing mediation efforts by Angola.Rwanda and DRC foreign ministers will meet for the fourth time on 9 and 10 September.

M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) are blaming each other for an exchange of gunfire on Sunday, which disrupted peace talks between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with Angola mediating.

The M23 rebels, alleged to be funded by Rwanda, said they took up arms after their airspace in Lubero and Rutshuru was violated by the FARDC.

“We bring to the public’s knowledge that a plane from the Kinshasa regime violated our airspace on Sunday. This act constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire and an inadmissible provocation,” said M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka in a statement.

In response, the FARDC added bad weather meant no aircraft could have flown anywhere in North Kivu.

The FARDC’s Lieutenant-Colonel Ndjike Kaiko Guillaume said the excuse presented by M23 was “an attempt to blind public opinion to justify the attacks they launched this Sunday on our positions at Kikubo in the territory of Lubero”.

READ | Rwanda’s Kagame sworn in saying regional peace ‘a priority’

On Saturday, M23 claimed the FARDC had deployed its soldiers around areas that fell under its control. 

However, FARDC said that was another manipulation to have an excuse to fight.

Since 4 August, Angolan President João Lourenço has been shuttling between Kinshasa in the DRC and Kigali in Rwanda to meet President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, as part of the Luanda Process.

When he met the two leaders, he tabled a peace plan for the eastern DRC.

Since early August, foreign ministers of both countries have met three times. At the Southern African Development Community summit two weeks ago in Harare, Zimbabwe, Lourenço’s efforts were commended.

The next meeting of foreign ministers from the two countries has been set for 9 and 10 September.The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

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