Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Goma, DR Congo

The fronts of the conflict between the M23 rebellion and government forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were relatively calm on Thursday, July 18 , the day after Washington announced a further 15 days of “humanitarian truce”, local sources said.
“A precarious calm is being observed,” said Lieutenant Reagan Mbuyi, army spokesman on the northern front of the two-and-a-half-year conflict in North Kivu province.
Towards the southern front, some shooting was reported in Masisi territory by local residents, but there was no fighting between the two sides.
On Wednesday July 17, the United States announced a “15-day extension of the humanitarian truce”.
This extension “will be in effect until 11:59 p.m. local time on August 3” and commits the belligerents “to silence their weapons and provide humanitarian personnel with unhindered access to vulnerable populations”, says a statement from the White House National Security Council.
The first two weeks of the “humanitarian truce” were announced by the White House on July 5. Since then, the fighting has lessened in intensity, but the truce has not been respected in some areas.

In particular, four young civilians, including two children, were killed on July 15 in a bombardment in Bweremana, a town in the Masisi region located some fifteen kilometers west of Goma, the provincial capital.
“While the parties to the conflict have largely respected the truce, we condemn the loss of civilian life at Bweremana,” says the US statement.
“We will work with the Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism to investigate this and other potential violations,” the text adds.
Since late 2021, the M23 (“March 23 Movement”) has seized vast swathes of territory in North Kivu.
In an online briefing on Wednesday, NGOs warned of the catastrophic humanitarian and security situation in the region, calling for a lasting cessation of hostilities.
Some noted that clashes had subsided since July 5, but expressed concern about what was to come. “All parties are preparing to resume the war,” noted Patrick Kikandi, president of the Congo Peace Network.
“Our soldiers on the ground are reorganizing. We are receiving reinforcements from other provinces”, said Lieutenant Mbuyi.
According to another security source in the region, army commanders are meeting in Kinshasa to plan a counter-attack to retake the areas occupied by the M23 .

Humaniterre with AFP