Rebels Advance, Uncertainty Grips Bukavu Amidst M23 Control

Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – A chilling cry pierces the parking lot of Bukavu’s General Hospital as a mother collapses upon recognizing her 23-year-old son’s lifeless body in the morgue. Malame’s body, riddled with two bullet wounds, had been found that morning on a sidewalk in the Botte district, mere steps from the governor’s office.

Emmanuel, the family’s eldest son, stood silently watching his mother’s grief-stricken collapse. "My brother went out to a bar around 8 p.m. to clear his head. By 11 p.m., he was dead," Emmanuel affirmed. He believes the reason for this tragedy was Malame’s choice to wear an armband bearing the insignia of the Alliance des forces démocratiques du Congo (AFDC), a political party led by Modeste Bahati Lukwebo, a former Senate President and ally of President Félix Tshisekedi.

The entry of the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels, supported by thousands of Rwandan soldiers, into Bukavu on Friday has plunged the city into a state of unease. After Goma, the capital of North Kivu, fell to the M23 in late January, Bukavu became the second major city in eastern DRC to succumb to their control.

This time, the city’s capture was accompanied by rampant looting, although fighting was virtually nonexistent. Unlike Goma, where several days of fierce clashes left an estimated 3,000 dead, including many civilians, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) chose to flee ahead of the rebels’ arrival, as did the Burundian troops sent to support them – Bujumbura had deployed 10,000 soldiers to Congo to combat armed groups.

Daniel Makutano, the administrator of Bukavu General Hospital, reported two deaths and 44 new wounded patients admitted since February 13, when the M23 resumed their advance in the Kalehe district, about 60 kilometers north of Bukavu. Five men in the hospital claimed to be FARDC soldiers who had been fighting the M23 since its inception in 2012.

Martin, 21, requested anonymity to avoid potential retaliation. He was wounded three weeks earlier while fighting in the vicinity of Beni, North Kivu. "If I must die, I will die here," the young soldier declared defiantly. "But I will not surrender to the M23. I will never betray my country."

However, not all in the barracks share Martin’s unwavering determination. Further down the dormitory, a veteran FARDC soldier severely injured during Thursday’s clashes at Kalehe admitted his fear of the M23 fighters, who are now in the same city as him. "If the M23 finds out that I am with the FARDC, they will hunt me down and kill me. Yes, I am afraid they will find me," the fifty-year-old whispered.

Joseph lay on a stretcher at the far end of the dormitory. The 33-year-old had been shot on Saturday. "I was on my way home when I encountered M23 soldiers at Feu Vert Square," the mechanic recounted. "I ran in the opposite direction. I remember hearing gunshots and then nothing." A bullet had perforated his chest just below his right pectoral muscle. Joseph no longer believes in the competency of his government: "The authorities are too weak now; they can’t fight their opponents?"

From Bukavu to Kinshasa, the capital located 1,500 kilometers west, criticism against President Tshisekedi is growing louder in the face of his perceived inaction. Over two years after the M23 offensive began, the sudden advance of the rebels and their Rwandan backers has raised questions about their ultimate intentions. Will they attempt to seize power in Kinshasa, as one of their leaders, Corneille Nangaa, asserted after the capture of Goma?

Despite repeated calls for international sanctions, Kinshasa has thus far failed to secure punitive measures against the M23 and Kigali from the United Nations and Brussels. On the diplomatic front, negotiations have reached a standstill. Felix Tshisekedi’s decision to attend a security summit in Munich on February 14 instead of the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa on February 15 and 16 dashed any hopes of restarting talks.

Théodore de Kerros (Bukavu, DRC, correspondent)