Rwanda is running M23 rebels in DRC, says UN

New York, US — Rwanda has exercised command and control over M23 rebels during their advance in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), gaining political influence and access to mineral-rich territory, according to a confidential report by a group of UN experts.

The report obtained by Reuters details training that the experts say Rwanda has provided to M23 recruits and military equipment they say Rwanda has deployed — notably “hi-tech systems capable of neutralising air assets” — to give the rebels “a decisive tactical advantage” over DRC’s beleaguered army.

The report was submitted to the UN Security Council sanctions committee for DRC in early May and was due to be published shortly, diplomats said.

Rwanda focused on ‘conquering additional territories’

M23 has advanced in eastern DRC, seizing the region’s two largest cities, Goma and Bukavu, in January and February. DRC, the UN and Western powers say Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms.

Rwanda has long denied helping M23 and says its forces are acting in self-defence against DRC’s army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

The report by the UN experts said Rwanda’s military support for M23 was not “primarily” aimed at addressing threats posed by the FDLR, asserting that Kigali was instead focused on “conquering additional territories”.

On Wednesday, Rwanda government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said the report “misrepresents Rwanda’s long-standing security concerns related to the persistent threat of the FDLR and its affiliated groups, which necessitates the defence posture in our border areas.”

Military centres to train M23 recruits

US President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to broker a peace deal between Rwanda and DRC that would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.

On Friday last week, the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers signed a peace deal in Washington and met Trump, who warned of “very severe penalties, financial and otherwise” if the deal were violated. Qatar is hosting a parallel mediation effort with delegations from the Congolese government and M23.

Makolo said Rwanda was committed to implementing the deal signed in Washington, including neutralising the FDLR, “which will enable the lifting of Rwanda’s defensive measures”.

The UN report said Rwanda had hosted leaders of a rebel coalition that includes M23 at its Gabiro Training Centre and also used military centres in Nasho and Gako to train M23 recruits.

Rwanda also “drastically increased” the number of Rwandan troops in eastern DRC ahead of M23’s advance, according to the experts, who offered “a conservative estimate of 6,000” Rwandan troops active in DRC’s North and South Kivu provinces.

Direct instruction from Rwanda

The UN experts also accused Rwanda of “flagrant and systematic violations” of an arms embargo, and said a likely missile attack in January on an armoured personnel carrier carrying UN peacekeepers — killing one and injuring four others — appeared to have been fired from a Rwandan military position.

An estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Rwandan troops were still active in M23-held territory when the report was drafted, and “several thousand” remained along the border ready to deploy, said the report, which covers investigations conducted up to April 20.

M23’s military gains earlier this year spurred fears of a wider regional war drawing in DRC’s neighbours, and also fuelled anxiety over the fate of President Felix Tshisekedi’s government.

In March, M23 travelled as far west as Walikale, an area rich in minerals including tin, putting the rebels within 400km of Kisangani, DRC’s fourth-biggest city.

The following month, however, M23 withdrew from Walikale, a decision the experts said was “taken following direct instruction from the government of Rwanda, once again confirming Rwanda’s command and control” over rebel operations.

“This included strategic-level decision-making on whether to seize, hold or relinquish territory, thereby demonstrating overall operational co-ordination and hierarchical subordination,” the report said.

The experts also accused DRC of relying on the FDLR and pro-government militia fighters known as Wazalendo, offering them money and logistics in violation of a sanctions regime.

A DRC government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Reuters