Imagine a dramatic movie scene 🎬 in eastern DR Congo: M23 seized Uvira on December 10, right near the border with Burundi. This was days after President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan leader Paul Kagame met President Trump in Washington to reaffirm a US-brokered peace deal.
Last week, the Rwanda-backed rebel group pledged to pull back to give talks a chance. But a senior US official tells us they're not convinced it's a total exit. In their words, they 'don't feel that it really amounts to a complete liberation of the town.' 🔍 Residents even spot fighters dressed as police patrolling nearby.
On Tuesday morning, locals heard sporadic gunfire from hills around the Kalundu neighbourhood. M23 and the Congolese army are blaming each other for the skirmishes. Meanwhile, Rwanda denies backing the rebels, despite a UN experts' report in July saying it had command and control over M23.
M23 isn't part of the Washington talks, but they're in separate negotiations with Kinshasa in Qatar. As the guns rumble, the humanitarian fallout grows: over 84,000 refugees have crossed into Burundi this month, and some 500,000 residents have been displaced in South Kivu since early December. The World Food Programme is stepping up aid for 210,000 people.
The financial hit is real: M23's lightning advance this year has cost DR Congo 0.4% of its GDP, and security spending is nearing $3 billion, IMF mission chief Calixte Ahokpossi warns. If the unrest drags on, cuts in investment and social programmes could slow the country's future growth.
Peace hopes hang in the balance 🤝🌍. Stay tuned as this story continues to unfold.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
