HARARE, August 13. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump's efforts to resolve the armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have failed, as the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group aided by Rwanda took control of major chunks of the country’s east, the La Nouvelle Tribune news outlet reported.
According to the latest UN data, as of the end of July, two million people have been forced from their homes in the provinces of North and South Kivu in eastern Congo since the beginning of the year. M23's emergence is rooted in inter-ethnic conflicts in the region, as well as the 2012 mutiny in the country’s army. The group now positions itself as representing the interests of Congolese Tutsis, the Banyamulenge, whose relatives live and hold power in Rwanda. M23 leaders accuse the Congolese authorities of excluding the Banyamulenge from the political process and failing to ensure their safety. They are particularly seeking the fulfillment of earlier agreements with Kinshasa to integrate M23 fighters into the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s armed forces.
On July 19, a declaration on a peaceful settlement was signed in Qatar’s Doha, confirming the conflicting parties' desire to cease fire, as stipulated in the agreement signed in Washington on June 18 under Trump's auspices. The US president presented the document as a significant accomplishment for Africa and the world. He also presented himself as a successful peacemaker who secured US economic interests in the region and access to critical minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was also assumed that the agreement would create conditions for the return of refugees and attract American investment to the region.
However, all these expectations have not been fulfilled, and fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues, the news outlet noted. The promises made have not been kept. Recently, the M23 group attacked the Congolese armed forces and local militias near the village of Mulamba in South Kivu.
The Congolese government accuses neighboring Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels operating in the DRC. In turn, Rwanda claims that the Congolese government is not taking action against the rebels who have bases in the eastern DRC and carry out raids into Rwanda.