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Thousands of people have fled the upsurge in fighting between M23 rebels and DR Congo government forces © Aubin Mukoni |
- Rwanda accused of supplying M23 rebels with Chinese-made missile systems in Eastern Congo
Rwanda has been accused of providing M23 rebels with Chinese-made missile systems in Eastern Congo, according to a UN report and intelligence from France. These sophisticated weapons, including service-to-air missiles, were reportedly used to fire at a United Nations observation drone last week. The Rwandan Army's suspected wz 551 six-wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, equipped with radar and missile launcher systems, were identified in the region.
No other country in East Africa, except Tanzania and Kenya, has these systems, but they don't use the radar-mounted versions like Rwanda. The radar in these vehicles helps track planes by throwing radar signals and calculating reflected objects, while the laser locator guides the missile to the targeted plane.
Rwanda's intention, as claimed by the people in the Ruru and Kanga districts, is to prevent proof of their second phase of war in Congo. Recent sightings of 11 Japanese Mitsubishi or Isuzu F ORS trucks, filled with M23 rebels and Ugandan soldiers, support this claim.
MONUSCO, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has never reported non-armed groups possessing or operating mobile service-to-missile systems due to the extensive training, money, and resources required. These systems, costing approximately $110,000 per missile, are unlikely to be provided to rebel groups without proper operational knowledge. The vehicle in question was reportedly seen in Kanga, moving south towards Sake, indicating a possible threat to UN peacekeeping mission jets.
- Arming of M23 and Rwandan forces: A cause for concern in Congo
Paul Kagame, the Rwandan President, has obtained advanced weaponry, including anti-aircraft guns and man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) sourced from China. These arms are similar to those used by Kagame in 1994 to shoot down a plane carrying structured the Rwandan president, triggering the genocide. The same weapons are now in the hands of M23 rebels, leading to intense fighting in the Congolese town of Sake.
With Kagame backing the M23, there are fears of a looming conflict between Rwandan, Ugandan, and Congolese forces. Local residents are advised to evacuate the town to ensure their safety. The allegations of assassination plots against Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and Kagame's disregard for consequences can further exacerbate the regional tensions due to his support from countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, driven by Congo's mineral resources.
Rwanda army using SAM missiles in east DR Congo: UN report
Rwanda army using SAM missiles in east DR Congo: UN report
Goma, Dr Congo (AFP) Feb 12, 2024
The Rwandan army supporting M23 rebels in an escalating conflict in eastern DR Congo is using sophisticated weapons such as surface-to-air missiles, according to a UN document seen by AFP on Monday.
Amid intensifying fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a "suspected Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM)" was fired at a UN observation drone last Wednesday without hitting it, the confidential report said.
The WZ551 (AKA the ZSL92 is a Chinese wheeled armored personnel carrier, not a mobile SAM carrier. It is actually consisted of two families of vehicles with official designations in the People's Liberation Army as Type 90 and Type 92. Roughly 900 WZ551s are in service with the PLA, where they are used by light mechanized infantry units. WZ551s have been exported to Algeria, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan. It's possible they attached a MANPADS launcher atop it.
"External military intelligence from France supports assessment that the suspected WZ551 6x6 IFV mobile SAM system is Rwandan," it added.
Two aerial images attached to the report show a six-wheeled armoured vehicle with a radar and missile launcher system on the roof.
The photos were taken by the targeted drone about 70 kilometres (44 miles) north of the city of Goma, in rebel-held Rutshuru territory.
The UN's MONUSCO peacekeeping mission said in the document it had "no past reporting of known armed groups possessing the training, capital or resources to operate and maintain a mobile SAM system".
It added that it "indicates an escalation of conventional force conflict in eastern DRC".
The document notes that M23 and the Rwanda army have used numerous weapons against aircraft and also have in their armoury anti-aircraft guns and MANPAD mobile air defence systems.
Such weapons pose a high risk to all DRC government and UN aircraft in the region, the document states.
In late January, M23 spokesman Willy Ngoma appeared in a video on social media threatening MONUSCO with reprisals and accusing it of supplying "enemies" with information about rebel activity gathered by drones.
Ngoma shows what he said was debris from a CH-4 drone flown by DRC forces and shot down by a rebel.
The DRC, the UN and Western countries say Rwanda is supporting the rebels in a bid to control vast mineral resources, an allegation Kigali denies.
Clashes have intensified recently between the M23 -- among the strongest of dozens of armed groups roaming the troubled east -- and the Congolese army.
Regional army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Ndjike said army "battalions and material" had arrived in the area "for the security of the population and to recapture territory".
The flare-up has pushed thousands of civilians to flee the town of Sake, on the route towards Goma, capital of North Kivu province.
At least three people died and a dozen were wounded on Monday when a "bomb" fell on a camp for the displaced near Goma, local sources said.
The Sake region, 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of the city, saw heavy fighting during the day.
A civil society source accused M23 of hitting the Zaina camp. "There were five killed and 15 hurt," the source said.
A medical source reported that three of 18 casualties had died.
Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya accused the Rwandan army of "firing the bomb in the early evening" and listed eight people seriously injured.
"On the hills the explosions are terrible," said a local witness, adding that armoured UN vehicles had been stoned by youngsters accusing the peacekeepers of "collaborating with the enemy".
- Protests target embassies, UN -
The UN forces have been in DRC for nearly 25 years, but stand accused of failing to protect civilians from armed groups.
The UN Security Council voted in December to accede to Kinshasa's demand for a pullout despite the volatile situation.
DRC authorities on Monday stepped up security outside embassies and UN buildings after they were targeted by protesters accusing the West of supporting M23.
Protests broke out last week in Kinshasa and the southeastern city of Lubumbashi.
On Friday, dozens of youths demonstrated outside the French and British embassies and earlier in the week, in front of the US embassy.
The government announced tighter security for embassies late on Sunday and policing had been increased at several sites in the capital on Monday.
Dozens of youths were also gathering for new marches and had burnt tyres on the pavement.
As a precaution, foreign schools were closed on Monday morning, as well as some shops in the centre of Kinshasa.
The M23 has seized vast swathes of North Kivu since emerging from dormancy in late 2021, in an area wracked by violence for decades following regional wars in the 1990s.
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