Democratic Republic Of Congo: "Smoke and Mirrors"

Smoke and Mirrors Democratic Republic of the Congo The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group on Wednesday broke a ceasefire implemented only days earlier in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and advanced toward another key town in the mineral-rich eastern part of the country, the Associated Press reported. Officials reported heavy fighting on the main road from Goma, which the rebels captured last week, to Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu province. They took the town of Nyabibwe, which lies about 60 miles away from Bukavu, on that route. On Monday, the rebels announced a ceasefire to allow aid to reach Goma, the capital of North Kivu region, where hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes because of the fighting. After declaring the ceasefire, they announced they had no interest in capturing Bukavu, Reuters reported. Even so, the rebels said they would march south to take the capital, Kinshasa. Meanwhile, the DRC government said the rebels were facing “fierce resistance” from the military around Nyabibwe. They also blamed Rwanda for the resumption of hostilities. The Rwandan Defence Force/ M23 unilateral ceasefire “was nothing but a Rwandan lie,” Congolese officials said. Also, Congolese authorities on Wednesday issued an international arrest warrant for Corneille Nangaa, one of the M23 political leaders, who is Conglose. International Criminal Court prosecutors also began an investigation into possible humanitarian crimes being committed in the DRC. Rwanda, which is backing the M23 with some 4,000 troops, aims to take control of the eastern DRC for access to its mineral wealth, worth trillions of dollars. The rebels had already controlled some mines in the region. Rwanda’s government, however, denies those claims, saying instead that its actions are in defense of Tutsis in the eastern DRC. During the Rwandan genocide in 1994, almost a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists, who later fled to the DRC. About 3,000 people have been killed in the rebel advance, officials said, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced in a region that had already hosted more than 6 million people displaced over the past decade by the ongoing conflict in the DRC. Goma is also currently grappling with shortages of food, electricity, and water.