Goma, March 8th, 2023 (CPA) – The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) denounced, in a communiqué of its 3rd Defence Zone received Tuesday by the CPA, the violation in North Kivu, by Rwanda via the M23, of the ceasefire announced last Saturday in Kinshasa, by President Macron.
« … in violation of the cease-fire planned this Tuesday, March 7th, 2023 by the Heads of State in Luanda, the M23/RDF have attacked FARDC positions in Karuba, on the Kibirizi-Rwindi axis as well as on the Mabenga-Rwindi bridge axis; and the fighting is ongoing, » notes the statement signed by the spokesman of the military governor of North Kivu, Lieutenant Colonel Guillaume Ndjike.
According to the statement, on Monday 6 March, the day before the scheduled ceasefire, M23/RDF rebels dropped shells on the town of Mubambiro, killing three people and wounding seven among the civilian population, a few kilometres from the town of Sake, in the Masisi territory.
« Indeed, at around 4.30pm on Monday, the M23/RDF fired several 120mm mortar bombs on the town of Sake, including two aimed specifically at the MONUSCO base in Mubambiro, two at the cantonment of the Burundian contingent recently deployed as part of the East African Community Regional Force (EAC/RF), as well as four others in the densely populated town surrounding Mubambiro, » the document describes. For the loyalist army, « this is not only a violation of the cease-fire, but also of international humanitarian humanitarian law by the Rwandan army, under the cover of the M23, which occurred on Monday 06 March 2023, having caused deaths among the civilian population and collateral damage in the town of Mubambiro in Sake. In the same communiqué, the national army deplores « this barbaric and terrorist act » which caused the death of three people, including two on the spot and another in hospital.
« The Armed Forces of the DRC once again call on the international community, the East African Community Regional Force, the Joint Verification Mechanism and the Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism to take note of these serious events as quickly as possible and to draw all the necessary conclusions.
and to draw all the necessary consequences, » the document concludes.
The locality of Mubambiro is located 25 km from the city of Goma, in its western part.
ACP/
