The M23 rebels have said they support the withdrawal of the South African National Defence Force from the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monusco) which they accused of failing people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“The withdrawal [of SANDF] is a welcome move on our part. Monusco has failed the people of DRC, especially us in the east. With South Africa gone, it further allows us to work towards maintaining peace in our positions,” M23 president Bertrand Bisimwa told the Mail & Guardian in Goma, saying SANDF had done the noble thing by walking away.
M23 has seized major regional hubs, mainly Goma and Bukavu. The earlier withdrawal of the South African-led Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) in May last year, following heavy combat losses against the rebels, emboldened them.
“We allowed SAMIDRC to leave because they were not meant to be there in the first place. We have no problems with South Africa,” Bisimwa said.
“We even sent a contingent to attend former president Thabo Mbeki’s peace summit in South Africa last year. They can play a role in peace dialogue initiatives, not armed conflict.”
Bisimwa acknowledged that in 2013, the rebels had been driven out by the South Africa-led United Nations Force Intervention Brigade, a specialised military component of Monusco. But more than 13 years later, the mission had turned out to be disastrous, he said.
“We went into exile during our first encounter with them. But more than 13 years later, the situation in the region has deteriorated. When Monusco came in, there were about 23-armed groups in the eastern DRC. Now we have more than 350 of those,” he said.
“This clearly means Monusco has failed. So why would South Africa remain as part of a failed mission?”
South Africa’s departure from Monusco would give it time to “look inward in its security mandate”, he said, noting that back home, “there’s talk of how badly capacitated their army was”. SANDF had at least 700 personnel on the mission.
Rwanda, South Africa strained relations
Bisimwa accused Monusco of working with rebel groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) that left Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. FDLR has a working relationship with the Congolese national army.
He said the fact that Monusco also worked with the DRC army and FDLR had contributed to strained relations between South Africa and Rwanda, which is accused of supporting the M23 rebels.
Addressing delegates last Friday at the Rwandan National Dialogue Council, President Paul Kagame accused South Africa of “pretending to be a peacemaker” and refuted claims that President Cyril Ramaphosa had warned him about the killing of SANDF soldiers in eastern DRC.
“President Ramaphosa has never given a ‘warning’ of any kind unless it was delivered in his local language, which I do not understand,” Kagame said, adding that the only conversation he had with the South African president was about support to ensure SANDF forces had adequate food, water and electricity in eastern DRC.
Kagame added: “If South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.”
Monusco farewell
While Monusco remains in the DRC, it has expressed its “deep gratitude” to the government and people of South Africa for their “steadfast commitment” over 27 years of service.
The mission formally honoured South African peacekeepers who lost their lives under the UN flag, recognising their “ultimate sacrifice for peace” in the DRC.
Monusco said it would work with partners to ensure a phased “safe, orderly, and responsible” withdrawal of SANDF.
Despite the pullout, Monusco said it looked forward to continuing dialogue with South Africa on broader peacekeeping issues and “lessons learnt” from the decades-long deployment.
M23 president Bertrand Bisimwa accused the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo of failing the people of eastern DRC