The senseless slaughter of Congolese civilians and soldiers alike continues unabated in North Kivu, as Tshisekedi arms a ragtag militia of Congolese youth. These youngsters often lost to a life of petty crime and despair, now find themselves wielding heavy weaponry, mere pawns in a desperate gambit to counter the so-called “Tutsi threat”; something that Tshisekedi himself has conjured up.
First of all, Tshisekedi is arming a motley crew of bloodthirsty militias, some of them tribal in nature, many birthed by Kinshasa itself. To add a shocking layer of audacity, foreign armed groups like the tropical Nazi from FDLR find themselves not only in bed with the regular Congolese army, but are even elevated to commanding positions. This is in blatant contradiction to the commitments made and reiterated by the Kinshasa regime during the summit on peace and security in the eastern region of the DRC in Addis Ababa, Luanda, and Nairobi.
To add fuel to the fire, the reckless arming of non-state actors threatens to ignite a powder keg of regional conflict. A recent incident illustrates this point clearly: in the Rubavu Sector of Rwanda’s Western Province, a civilian fell victim to a stray bullet during clashes involving the coalition of Kinshasa-backed illegal armed groups, specifically the APCLS (Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo), allied with the FDLR, and the newly formed UFPDC (Union of Patriotic Defense Forces of Congo). This warrants a response from Rwanda under international law.
Furthermore, Tshisekedi is actively endorsing local armed groups with a long history of anti-Tutsi sentiments and a deep-seated hatred for Rwandans. He’s embracing them as “resistant patriots” (Wazalendo), and their mission is crystal clear: cleanse the DRC of anyone even remotely resembling Tutsi. Ironically, these very groups have a reputation for cowardice, abandoning their arms and ammunition at the first whiff of serious conflict, especially when facing those they deem “Tutsi”, meaning M23.
This strategy of arming non-state actors systematically delays the resolution of the crisis within DRC borders. This can be explained by the existence within opinion and the Congolese political class of an ultra-nationalist and tribalist extremist current whose influential members, animated by an irrational hatred against the Rwandan-speaking Congolese communities, consider the M23 a Kigali militia.
In reality, Tshisekedi’s actions can only be interpreted as a desperate bid to cling to power, even if it means orchestrating chaos and unspeakable suffering for the people of eastern DRC. What’s more, he refuses to acknowledge and resolve the national crisis, which could easily spiral into a regional war and a horrific genocide, the likes of which we’ve seen before in the Great Lakes region.
Meanwhile, the Rwandan army stands ready, fortifying the border with Congo, prepared to fend off any potential spillover resulting from the chaos unleashed by the Tshisekedi regime.
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