The Democratic Republic of Congo government moved to reassure the country Friday that the “military will not surrender” following the capture of Uvira.
Justice Minister Guillaume Ngefa made the remarks days after the M23 rebels seized the key commercial hub in eastern South Kivu province near the border with Burundi, without resistance.
Meeting ambassadors and diplomats, Ngefa expressed his government’s determination to “defend the integrity of its territory”, and promised that the strategic town of Uvira “would be recaptured by the government forces”.
“Faced with this situation, the Congolese government has a clear and responsible position. First, we will not surrender. The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, supported by allied forces, are reorganizing and repositioning themselves to defend the integrity of the territory. The battle to liberate South Kivu is not over,” said Ngefa.
Peace agreement
The intensification of fighting in several territories in South Kivu occurred days after President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, signed a peace and economic agreement to put an end to the fighting in eastern Congo.
Counter accusations have since ensued, with each side blaming the other of violating the ceasefire provided under a US-brokered peace deal.
The new clashes resulted in a major humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 200,000, according to the UN.
It also led to the deaths of more than 400 and dozens of injuries, said provincial authorities.
Nearly 100 wounded people were admitted from December 2 to 11 to the Uvira General Referral Hospital, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Friday.
“The fact that the Uvira General Hospital has received so many wounded in such a short period of time shows how much violence is affecting civilians,” Djibril Mamadou Diallo, head of the ICRC office in Uvira, told Anadolu.
“We are very concerned about the fate of civilians caught up in the ongoing fighting in several areas of South Kivu province and about access to appropriate health care for all those who have been wounded,” he said.
Disrupt supply route
Water and power distribution utilities are said to be affected, while health care remains inaccessible due to the security situation.
Analysts said the capture of Uvira, which served as a temporary provincial headquarters, could pave the way for the AFC/M23 rebels to reach the Greater Katanga area, considered the economic heart of the country.
The rebels’ occupation of the city would also effectively disrupt a key supply route for arms and materials via Burundi to the government.
