The anti -government militia, known as the M23, seized sesame, a major city in the Congo, threatened displaced, and caused fear of a wider area of regional war.
According to the United Nations, about 400,000 people escaped from the house in the eastern part of Congo as the rebel moved forward. Refugee agency。 In recent days, more people have arrived in the city.
According to the United Nations and the United States, the M23 has been funded and supervised by the Rwanda government. Rwanda has denied direct involvement with the group.
The conflict had roots in Rwanda’s 1994 Geno Side, spilling over the borders and spilling into the Congo, leading to several decades. Like the Rwanda leader, the M23 is mainly composed of the Tsuuchi ethnic groups.
What is M23?
The M23 is one of more than 100 militia walking around the eastern part of the eastern part of the eastern part of Congo. However, the group stands out by others for the benefit of the territory and the management of local -advantageous mining.
“They give a more threat to the Congo than any other armed group,” said Gudith Vereween, a researcher who has been experienced for 15 years at East Congo, taught at Utrecht, the Netherlands. I did it.
The group’s name refers to the claim that the Congo government signed on March 23, 2009 did not respect the previous peace agreement.
M23 leaders argue that the group is in the eastern part of the Congo, and is in the Eastern Congo to protect other Kignal Wanda speakers from the persecution of the Congo authorities.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned the widespread hate speech against the eastern Tosutis, stating that the risk of Genocide and atrocities in the region remains high last year. Higashi Congo has hundreds of suspicious perpetrators in Rwanda’s Genocide, which are not in the trial, I said。
The group was founded in 2012 and immediately captured sesame for the first time before the global leader was under pressure on Rwanda. Before resuming the attack on the Congo Army in 2021, it was a dormant state in most 2010.
Who supports M23?
The M23 was under the military command of Sultani McGenga, a anti -government forces of Congo, who fought in Rwanda in the 1990s, and died in the 2000s to join the M23 in 2012.
McKenga has been instructed and supported by the Rwanda Army and Rwanda’s IntellignC report. According to the United Nations experts Congo and Western Intellignce report.
Rwanda denied direct involvement. The enhancement of the military in the east of the Congo has threatened its security, arguing in the area that there is a member of the Hutu ethnic group behind Genocide in 1994.
Experts say that Rwanda, a country smaller than Massachusetts, whose natural resources are limited, is trying to extend the influence of the eastern part of Congo and to loot mineral resources.
What is the origin of M23?
After the Genocide in 1994, about 1 million of the Hutu ethnic groups fled from Rwanda for the Congo and was called Zyle. Among them, there were many massacre that is responsible for killing millions of Tutsi. In 1996, Rwanda invaded the Congo, eventually led to the fall of Mobutsu Seeseeko, the leader of the long -standing Crypt Crates.
In the late 2000s, several groups were created to defend the Congo’s Tsuchis and fight against the Congo forces, including the National Conference for the M23, the national conference. On March 23, 2009, the group signed a peace agreement with the Congo and agreed to integrate fighters with the national army.
The transaction was different in 2012, and hundreds of former rebels caused a rebellion in the Congo Army to form an M23 movement.
In 2013, Rwanda stopped providing funds to the group under the intense international pressure, and the Congo army and the United Nations Peace Maintenance Army broke the M23.
Since it reappears in 2021, it has been attacking.
What is new this time?
Experts have seen several major differences from the M23’s 2012 attack.
region: The M23 manages twice the land of 2012, according to Bintou Keita, the UN’s Supreme Staff. The territory under its management increased by 30 % between April and November last year. Sexual violence because the rebels seized more territory Rampant The injury injured by a heavy artillery is rising rapidly.
capacity: For the past year, the M23 has accelerated voluntary and forced recruitment, including minors. According to UN experts such as anti -tank missiles, the fighter did not use weapons that had never been seen in the eastern part of Congo.
Rwanda unit: UN expert At least in the year’s report Up to 4,000 Rwanda units were deployed in the M23’s major operating area, Kita Kib, and exceeded the M23 fighter.
What is the end game of M23?
According to the United Nations, the M23 is planning to “expand the territory and a long -term occupation and exploitation of the conquested territory.”
In April, the group seized Louvaya, one of the world’s largest mines in Cortan, an important factor in the production of smartphones. The M23 has issued a mining permit, and has formed a “state -like management” for mining production, trade, and transportation, and has earned more than $ 800,000 per month.
According to a report on the trade of the Congo’s neighbor from the territory controlled by the M23, the minerals are ultimately routed to Rwanda.
In 2012, after Rwanda withdrew the group’s support, the M23 was withdrawn from GOMA. Western donors later applied diplomatic pressure to Rwanda and reduced very necessary assistance. This time, the same power uses only words to blame the attack.
“Rwanda may test water and see what it can escape,” said Verwayen. “It will form how the M23 rebellion will develop.”