Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern region is on the verge of being completely taken over by the political-military coalition Congo River Alliance (AFC) and the M23 Rebel Group.
Having already managed to occupy several areas in the province of North Kivu, DR Congo government have revealed plans by the AFC and the M23 fighters to expand and occupy new territories in North Kivu’s neighbouring province of Ituri.
At a media briefing held on Monday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Christophe Lutundula accused Rwanda of using this strategy to convince national and international opinion that it is not involved in the ongoing crisis to suggest that it is rather an internal Congolese crisis.
“The problems are exposed, notably that of the FDLR, but there is more. We must inform our compatriots about the Congo River Alliance (AFC), which has declared an alliance with the M23. What does this mean ? A plan is currently being prepared to move from North Kivu to Ituri. We know that there are people who are trained somewhere in this plot, in this machination, to link the two groups and thus claim that , see, this is not a problem of Rwanda, but an affair between the Congolese themselves which now extends to Ituri.
We are aware of these maneuvers, but the Congolese do not pay them particular attention. We know that the other will claim to have nothing to do with this situation. Rest assured that we are addressing all these issues at all levels of discussion”, Lutundula said.
The security situation in eastern DRC continues to worsen by each since the resurgence of the M23 rebels who continue to occupy several areas of the North Kivu province with the Congolese army (FARDC) struggling to contain the rebels.
