M 23 rebels in eastern DRC are almost routed after a joint UN-Congolese army onslaught.

Rebels in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC are on the verge of being wiped out following an unprecedented joint offensive launched recently by the Special Intervention Brigade of the UN MONUSCO peacekeeping force and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, FARDC. The offensive sent M 23 political leader, Bertrand Bisimwa, fleeing across the border into Uganda after the fall of their last stronghold at Bunagana on October 30, 2013.

The rebels, who have occupied numerous towns along the borders with Rwanda and Uganda for over a year since they launched their revolt against the government in 2012, now have only about 200 die-hard fighters still holding on to positions on the Virunga mountains on the border with Uganda. Several reasons explain FARDC’s recent gains after last year’s rebel humiliating defeat of the army and brief takeover of the North Kivu provincial headquarters of Goma.

US, UK Intervention

According to a recent report by The Daily Telegraph newspaper of England, the Foreign Ministers of America and Britain called President Paul Kagame of neighbouring Rwanda on Friday, October 25, 2013, urging him not to intervene in support of M 23. John Kerry, the US Secretary of State and William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, telephoned President Kagame separately on the same day, telling him to stay out of the conflict.

When the recent round of fighting began, Rwanda threatened to intervene, claiming that shells were fired into its territory by the FARDC. Rwanda has repeatedly been accused both by the UN and the international community of backing rebels in eastern DRC. M 23 is strongly believed to have been Rwanda’s creation.

UN Support, Better Equipment

Thanks to the support of the recently created United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO Special Intervention Brigade, the Congolese army was able to recapture swathes of territory from the rebels in just over a week.

Unlike the 20,000-strong UN MONUSCO peacekeeping force, the Special Intervention Brigade that is made up of 3,000 crack South African, Tanzanian and Malawian troops, has a more robust mandate to track down all armed groups in the country. Moreover, the FARDC appeared better armed and equipped this time around. Soldiers were paid more regularly and morale and discipline seemed to have improved, analysts said.

US Sanctions

As long-time supporter of President Paul Kagame, the US has in the past been reluctant to sanction the government in spite of repeated accusations of Rwanda’s meddling in the recurrent strife in eastern DRC. But last September, the US suspended military aid to Rwanda over its alleged complicity in M 23’s recruitment of child soldiers.

Although the financial aid withheld only amounts to 500,000 Dollars (about FCFA 243 million) in training programmes for the Rwandan army, the decision itself is very important and may signal more to come. The decision was based on the July 2013 UN Group of Experts report that accused Rwanda of continuing its support to M 23 rebels.

Carrot And Stick Approach

While talking peace with rebels in Kampala, Uganda since December 2012, the Democratic Republic Congo government also prepared for war. After the fall of the rebel headquarters at Bunagana on October 30, 2013, President Joseph Kabila again urged M 23 fighters to demobilise voluntarily, warning that his troops would otherwise make them do so by force.

Kabila said that ‘political and diplomatic solutions’ remained on the negotiating table in Uganda. Analysts say it is this carrot and stick approach that paid off. Moreover, numerous armed groups still operate in the region and an end to M 23 could quickly lead to a new successor organisation if underlying dissatisfaction among the people, who lack many basic services, is not quickly addressed.