M23 accuses Kinshasa of violating ceasefire, launching fresh offensive in eastern DR Congo
The rebel coalition accuses Kinshasa of launching coordinated attacks despite a recent Doha peace deal and vows to defend civilians.
The M23 rebel coalition has announced that it will exercise its right to self-defence, accusing the Kinshasa government of launching coordinated attacks on areas under its control in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the group claimed that the Kinshasa regime had intensified its “flagrant violations of the ceasefire,” operating with impunity “both along and beyond the front lines.”
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“While the international community urges dialogue, Kinshasa’s kakistocratic regime has instead embraced a path of criminal barbarism and orchestrated massacres,” the Alliance Fleuve Congo Peuple Uni (AFC/M23) said.
According to the alliance, around 3:00 am on Tuesday, “the criminal coalition forces of the Kinshasa regime launched a comprehensive offensive across all front lines.”
The statement added that heavy artillery and combat drones were “being deliberately aimed at densely populated areas in Kibati, Bibwe, Nyabiondo, Bukombo and their surroundings.”
“As a result of this indiscriminate aggression, children and women are being killed, and the number of casualties and displaced persons is rising at an alarming rate,” the group said.
By “sabotaging all international peace efforts,” the rebels claimed, Kinshasa had made its intentions clear: “it is waging a war against the Congolese people.”
“Confronted with this murderous campaign, the Alliance Fleuve Congo/Movement du 23 Mars (AFC/M23) is left with no choice but to exercise its right to self-defence. We will employ all necessary means to protect civilian populations and to put the criminals out of action,” the statement continued.
The escalation comes two weeks after the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebel group signed an agreement in Doha to establish a ceasefire monitoring mechanism aimed at ending the prolonged conflict in the east.
According to the Congolese government, the signing was facilitated by Qatar and witnessed by representatives from the United States, the African Union, and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUSCO).
“DR Congo delegates and River Alliance/M23 signed on Tuesday the ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism, under the facilitation of Qatar,” the Congolese Communications Ministry announced in a post on social media platform X.
The accord followed the Declaration of Principles ceasefire deal signed in July, intended to pave the way for lasting peace and a cessation of hostilities. However, clashes between government forces and the M23 have continued, with both sides accusing each other of violating the truce.
The government described the latest deal as “a major step” in implementing the July 19 Declaration of Principles.
“With the signing, Congo reaffirms its willingness to achieve the cessation of hostilities, to guarantee the security of the populations, and to prepare the conditions for a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement, within the framework of the Doha process supported by the international community,” the ministry said.
The M23, which resurfaced in 2021, controls significant portions of eastern Congo, including the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu, captured earlier this year. The group has long been accused by Kinshasa, the UN, and Western governments of receiving support from neighbouring Rwanda—an allegation Kigali has repeatedly denied.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka welcomed the Doha signing as a positive step toward peace.
“We hope that this agreement will put an end to the repeated attacks carried out by the coalition forces of the Kinshasa regime against our civilian populations. If Kinshasa fully respects its commitments, this implementation will create the climate of serenity, peace, and security essential to allow us to finally address the fundamental issues of this conflict and ensure the protection of civilians,” Kanyuka said in a statement.
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