Despite the M23 movement’s show of goodwill to respect the Luanda agreement by conducting a coordinated, sequenced, and systematic withdrawal from areas they have occupied, the Kinshasa regime continues to do the opposite. But despite these persistent transgressions, the international community blames the M23 movement for defending themselves and the Congolese population.
Armed groups went to Nairobi for a peace conference, from which M23 was excluded. The agreement during that meeting was that the armed groups would cease all hostilities and lay down their arms upon return. However, upon return, none of the main armed groups’ allies to the FARDC has laid down their arms or shown any intention to disarm. Instead, the coalition of FARDC, FDLR, Nyatura, Maimai, CODECO, PARECO, and APCLS have continued to attack M23 in violation of the Luanda cease-fire.
While all eyes are on the M23, the armed groups that were part of the Nairobi process have continued to kill and loot with impunity under the protection of the Kinshasa regime, which uses them to do their dirty work only when they want to avoid international scrutiny.
The international community and media make it look like the regional mechanisms only apply to the M23 movement. Congo has more than 130 armed groups that continue to wreak havoc in eastern DRC, and within under one month, M23 has managed to weaken the most notorious and biggest among them, like FDLR, Mai-Mai, Nyatura, CODECO, and PARECO. This is a feat that leaves MONUSCO green with envy because, despite the millions of dollars spent on them, they have absolutely nothing to show as their achievement in the last 20 years of their stay in eastern DRC. Ironically, they are conspiring with the Kinshasa regime to undermine and sabotage the M23 movement, which is fighting to protect the Congolese Tutsi community, who are victims of a genocide committed by the FARDC and their armed group allies.
The attitude of the international community raises more doubt about whether they really want sustainable peace in the DRC like the region or they would rather have a status quo, which is the reason they are against M23, which is showing success in neutralizing the murderous armed groups that have eludes MONUSCO and FARDC.