Following the humiliating defeat M23 inflicted on Tshisekedi forces in the areas of Kalembe in the territory of Walikale, the FARDC alongside its coalition have resorted to throwing explosives in densely populated areas, killing innocent civilians and causing a massive exodus.
Tshisekedi’s inept forces and its coalition of Wazalendo militias, Burundi troops, Rwanda FDLR, Mai Mai, and other bandits sponsored by Tshisekedi always resort to barbarism whenever called upon to fight. They then try to implicate M23, while Kinshasa propagandists smear Rwanda with lies that “Rwanda troops involved!”
Having broken the cease-fire agreement as signed in the previous Luanda mediations, FARDC on the night of 19th October (Saturday) launched provocative attacks against M23 defense bases near Kalembe, pushing the latter to retaliate. In the ensuing confrontations (that went through Sunday) M23 fighters managed to resist and push the FARDC coalition out.
The cornered Wazalendo, having run out of ammunition and command control, decided to run for their lives, leaving the small town of Kalembe in the hands of the mighty M23.
While the confrontations have caused deaths, causalities and massive internal displacements, information from the ground has it that M23 chief Gen. Sultan Makenga and his fighters are determined to liberate more villages in the area, in a bid to rescue more civilians that are being targeted.
M23’s rescue operations are normally swift and decisive, aimed at preventing further killings by Tshisekedi’s forces. In these missions, M23 ensures that civilians under attack are given a secure escape route, to shield them from the brutal assaults of Tshisekedi’s cowardly, unruly militias.
And so it was with the most recent skirmishes.