Rwandans reportedly relocated to M23-controlled areas in east DRC could spark ethnic clashes

Local authorities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have reported that dozens of Rwandan families are being resettled in areas that are controlled by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, expressing fears that this could spark ethnic clashes and conflicts over land.

Rwandan families were crossing the DRC’s border in trucks and taking over villages vacated by violence-displaced Congolese, Kaurwa Bazungu Romain, a provincial member of parliament, told Deutsche Welle. This is happening in the eastern DRC that is under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that has been since 2021 seizing more and more territories in the region.

“The M23 issued threats to the Congolese that the people brought from Rwanda to these two territories would be settled in the plots of the displaced Congolese. The fear is that this situation risks plunging us into perpetual conflicts over land,” he said. Neighboring Rwanda has not reacted to the allegations.

It comes as, in a separate but related development, the UN Security Council on Tuesday (6 August) authorized its peacekeepers in the eastern DRC to provide technical and logistical support to the fight against rebel groups, most notably the M23. The unanimous UN resolution allows the UN peacekeeping mission to the DRC to support the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) through “enhanced coordination, information-sharing and technical assistance.”

The SAMIDRC has been assisting the DRC armed forces in its fight against the M23. The UN Security Council also welcomed a ceasefire agreement signed on 30 July between the DRC and Rwanda, calling for a “lasting” peace between the parties.