Agenzia Fides REPORT - For two weeks the fighting between the national army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and rebels of the Movement of March 23 (M23) have been concentrated on three hills: Mbuzi, Chanzu and Runyonyi, in the territory of Rutshuru (North Kivu), near the border with Uganda and Rwanda, forcing civilians to flee. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, there are almost 80,000 people who have left their villages to escape the fighting. The rebels claim to have deserted the army and founded a new armed movement because, in their opinion, the government did not stick to the commitments made in previous agreements.
"If it has to do with political demands, it should be noted that the CNDP, from which the rebels of M 23 derive, has been recognized as a political party, a member of the Presidential Majority. It is within that platform that the rebels should have submitted their claims, without taking up arms," said an editorial sent to Fides Agency from the Peace Network for Congo, established by missionaries working in the country.
"If it has to do with military claims (salaries, logistics, recognition of stripes), the rebels of today had been integrated into the national army, according to previous agreements and, therefore, should refer to the top of the military hierarchy. In any case, any claim, even if just, it does not legitimate recourse to arms. It is therefore reasonable to suspect that, under certain official claims of M 23, there are some hidden intentions " continue the missionaries of Peace Network for Congo.
In reality, the reasons given by the military deserters are only excuses for not accepting their deployment in other military districts other than the two Kivu, so as to continue their illegal exploitation of local mineral resources. "The various reports of the UN Group of Experts for the DRC denounced on several occasions, the implication of certain officers of the Congolese armed forces, including 'General' Bosco Ntaganda and 'Colonel' Sultans Makenga in Mafia circuits devoted to the smuggling of minerals Kivu. It is no secret. Nor is it a secret that the illegal trade of minerals travels above all through Rwanda, as well as Uganda and Burundi, as denounced also by the reports cited" say the missionaries. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 31/5/2012)
"If it has to do with political demands, it should be noted that the CNDP, from which the rebels of M 23 derive, has been recognized as a political party, a member of the Presidential Majority. It is within that platform that the rebels should have submitted their claims, without taking up arms," said an editorial sent to Fides Agency from the Peace Network for Congo, established by missionaries working in the country.
"If it has to do with military claims (salaries, logistics, recognition of stripes), the rebels of today had been integrated into the national army, according to previous agreements and, therefore, should refer to the top of the military hierarchy. In any case, any claim, even if just, it does not legitimate recourse to arms. It is therefore reasonable to suspect that, under certain official claims of M 23, there are some hidden intentions " continue the missionaries of Peace Network for Congo.
In reality, the reasons given by the military deserters are only excuses for not accepting their deployment in other military districts other than the two Kivu, so as to continue their illegal exploitation of local mineral resources. "The various reports of the UN Group of Experts for the DRC denounced on several occasions, the implication of certain officers of the Congolese armed forces, including 'General' Bosco Ntaganda and 'Colonel' Sultans Makenga in Mafia circuits devoted to the smuggling of minerals Kivu. It is no secret. Nor is it a secret that the illegal trade of minerals travels above all through Rwanda, as well as Uganda and Burundi, as denounced also by the reports cited" say the missionaries. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 31/5/2012)
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