“The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo reaffirms his determination to end the conflict with Rwanda and the M23 rebel movement during a meeting with Congolese army officers”
The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, delivered an offensive speech during a meeting with senior officers of the Congolese army in Kinshasa. He expressed his determination to end the conflict with Rwanda and eliminate the M23 rebel movement and its allies. This declaration marks a change in tone compared to official speeches favoring diplomacy.
During his speech, the Head of State highlighted the human losses suffered by the country, both because of the negative influence of neighboring countries and the flaws in the Congolese defense and security system. He also stressed the need to provide adequate resources to the Congolese army to meet the security challenges facing the country.
This meeting comes in a tense context with Rwanda, with accusations of support from the Rwandan government for the M23 rebel movement. Several Congolese officers were arrested, including Lieutenant General Philémon Yav, accused of trying to allow M23 rebels to take control of the city of Goma in eastern DRC.
To deal with this situation, President Tshisekedi announced the deployment of new brigades recently trained on the ground starting next month. He called on the officers present to rally behind him to address the security challenge facing the country.
Although the DRC officially favors diplomacy, groups described as pro-government are fighting the M23 on the ground. This situation was highlighted by the United Nations special envoy for the Great Lakes region of Africa, who expressed concerns about the military buildup of both the DRC and Rwanda, as well as the lack of direct dialogue high level.
In conclusion, this meeting between President Tshisekedi and officers of the Congolese army marks a change of tone in the DRC’s desire to end the conflict with Rwanda and the M23 rebel movement. This more offensive approach is accompanied by the deployment of new brigades to strengthen military operations on the ground. It remains to be seen whether this strategy will produce the expected results and restore stability in eastern DRC.
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