The day before yesterday, on orders of Congo ruler Felix Tshisekedi and his regional rulers in Southern Kivu, the Wazalendo militias issued a lousy threatening communique warning the M23 liberation force to vacate Bukavu or be shelled.
The group went as far as advising civilians to flee the area from the imminent firepower, pretending to care about their safety while laying ground for another cycle of manufactured victimhood.
It is important to remind that Wazalendo, who work closely with the FDLR and are fully integrated into the FARDC, have been responsible for deadly attacks in both Bukavu and Goma which claimed the lives of innocent people and they hopelessly attempted to scapegoat M23.
Despite being beaten and pushed by the M23 in several areas, they continue to operate as Tshisekedi’s hit and run reckless foot soldiers, fueling violence and sowing fear. Their threats may sound theatrical, but their record of terror shows they cannot be dismissed lightly.
Definitely, the latest move is part of a clear plan to sabotage the peace process currently at an advanced stage. As talks led by the United States, the State of Qatar, the Chad process, and the Nairobi track are making progress, no one should forget that what Wazalendo are doing are completely out of the 25th April brokered cease-fire by the US and Qatar.
For Wazalendo to try provoke M23 into a direct confrontation, it is another hopeless ploy to play victim and blame Rwanda instead. In the event M23 retaliate against such threats, they will run to cameras and cry that civilians are under attack, that M23 is the culprit and other nonsense. Typical of Congolese army’s classic script, provoke then play the victim.
In all this bloody drama, Tshisekedi’s regime is not just complicit, it is the main architect. Backed by genocidal FDLR elements and desperate to salvage regional control through chaos, Kinshasa obviously gambling with civilian lives.
If this regime had any interest in peace, Wazalendo would not be issuing public threats under military protection.
The international actors backing the peace process must stop watching this recklessness and act accordingly. Tshisekedi must be told in clear terms that the lives of Congolese civilians are not bargaining chips. Every rocket launched by Wazalendo, every fake communique, every staged provocation must be seen for what it is, an attempt to derail peace and prolong suffering.
Let the peace talks continue, but let the world stop pretending Tshisekedi is an honest participant. Those enabling these criminal games, whether in FARDC uniforms or presidential offices, must be held accountable.
