The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has requested the authorities in Doha, Qatar, to ask AFC/M23 to withdraw its fighters from all areas it has taken in South Kivu and North Kivu before engaging in negotiations with this coalition.
This became known after the DRC sent representatives to Qatar at the beginning of this week, mostly security officials, to discuss with AFC/M23.
At the same time, at the beginning of this week, AFC/M23 also sent representatives to Qatar, including Bisimwa and Colonel Nzeze Imani John.
This coalition of AFC/M23 wants the Congolese government to revoke the death penalty imposed on its leaders and the arrest warrants issued against them.
It also seeks the release of civilians and soldiers detained for allegedly collaborating with it based on their appearance or ethnicity.
Furthermore, it desires the establishment of a law punishing those who spread hate speech that targets Congolese citizens speaking Kinyarwanda and Swahili, accusing them of collaborating with AFC/M23.
Additionally, it aims to work with the Kinshasa government to establish a ceasefire agreement.
The DRC’s actions in requesting Qatar to ask AFC/M23 to withdraw its fighters from all areas under its control resemble what it did in 2012 when it requested this M23 group to withdraw its fighters from Goma, which it had recently captured, during negotiations with Joseph Kabila, who was leading the country at that time.
At that time, the government of Kinshasa told M23 that they would negotiate and address all of its requests related to resolving security issues in the eastern part of the country; primarily these were issues related to the abuse of Congolese citizens who speak Kinyarwanda.
However, M23’s withdrawal from the city of Goma led to its collapse in 2013, as it was subjected to heavy attacks by the forces of the specialized unit in the United Nations peacekeeping mission (FIB), as well as those of the DRC and other foreign forces.
Later, this group also reorganized and resumed fighting in 2021. That was when it began to capture large areas of North Kivu, although there were times when it withdrew at the request of the leaders of the East African Community (EAC) during negotiations that took place at that time.
M23 was promised that the areas it had vacated would be monitored by the EAC forces (EACRF), but it became evident that Burundian troops were overseeing those areas in Masisi, including Mushaki and Kitshanga, allowing Congolese forces to enter without permission.
When the Congolese government expelled the EACRF at the end of last year, M23 had to resume fighting in order to reclaim those areas and to recover its key fighters, including Col-Castro Elise Mberabagabo, who was in charge of intelligence in that group.
Now, the DRC has requested that AFC/M23 withdraw from the areas it controls before the diplomatic talks begin in Doha, Qatar, as stated by one of the officials of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the American news agency, Associated Press.
