M23: Rebels who lost their cause

A militia that derives its name from a peace agreement is a paradox in itself. Embodying this conundrum is the M23, or the Mouvement Du March 23, which operates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, drawing support from neighbouring Rwanda.

Taking after a failed truce deal signed on March 23, 2009, the militia, on January 27, captured the mineral-rich city of Goma in eastern Congo’s North Kivu. The group began its advance towards South Kivu province and stands at the outskirts of the capital Bukavu, eastern DRC’s second major city.

The origins of the M23 are rooted in noble intentions for it claims to protect the minority Tutsis from Hutu ethnic militias. The group was formed in 2012 by some members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), which itself was an offshoot of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) — the Tutsi rebels credited with ending the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

However, the persecution of Tutsis has been prevalent long before the pogrom. The region has been rife with strife since colonial times; so much so that some 1,50,000 Tutsis had migrated to neighbouring countries even before Rwanda’s independence from Belgium in 1962.

The Rwandan genocide — in which the Hutu-led administration in Rwanda and the Hutu Interahamwe militia, went on a rampage, killing some 8,00,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus over 100 days — exists as a window for the rest of the world into the plight of the Tutsis.

Rwanda’s role

With the RPF at the helm, Hutus feared reprisals and fled post-genocide Rwanda for the DRC. Among the 2,00,000 Hutus that migrated, were the perpetrators of war crimes, who banded together and formed the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) — one of the more than 120 armed groups active in the region.

To date, Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame, has persisted in preventing attacks by these Hutu militias. Both Mr. Kagame and the M23 have made it their mission to clamp down on the Hutu militias operating in the DRC. Efforts to this end included two invasions by Rwanda, called Africa’s World Wars, in 1996 and 1998, which ended in 2003, after claiming the lives of five million from battle, disease and starvation. Mr. Kagame’s tacit support for the M23 and its earlier iterations also stems from this fear of an FDLR reprisal.

Since then, Rwanda has been on a constant ascent under Mr. Kagame, who also enjoyed support from Western nations.

On the contrary, the M23’s activities have ebbed and flowed. The group came into existence after the 2009 plan to integrate CNDP fighters into the Congolese military forces (FARDC) fell apart.

Shortly after its formation, the M23 captured Goma in late 2012. Despite withdrawing from the city in December, the group still accounted for 20% of the violence in the DRC between 2012 and 2013. Concerted efforts by UN peacekeepers and the Congolese military, accompanied by reduced support from the Rwandan military, saw to it that the group retreated into Uganda where its leader Sultani Makanga surrendered.

Then came a brief lull of nine years until they resurfaced in late 2021, which was marked by the capture of mineral-rich regions such as Rubaya, Kasika, Walikale, Numbi and the more recent Goma. This also begs the question as to whether the M23 is acting as a proxy for Rwanda, which stands to benefit from the Coltan ores in the DRC. Tantalum obtained from this ore is much sought after in the global market due to its use in mobile phones and other gadgets.

In its pursuit to safeguard the ‘rights of Congolese Tutsis’, the M23 stands accused of crimes such as child slavery, rape and other war crimes by the UN. A report by the agency has also found that close to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting with the M23 in the DRC.

The group continues to make both territorial and financial gains at the cost of Congolese citizens, with the clashes taking the lives of 2,900 people and displacing more than 7,00,000 since January.