DR Congo, M23 clashes leave EAC in a dilemma

Arusha. The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and M23 militias is increasingly worrying the regional leaders.

While some preferred the problem tackled from its roots, others wanted prompt action on the part of the East African Community (EAC).

Also Read: Rwanda says kidnapped troops being held in DR Congo

Analysts say the escalating conflict was already impacting cross border trade, citing a ban of RwandAir from landing in DRC.

EAC’s secretary general Peter Mathuki said he was aware of the need for the bloc to make its position clear on the crisis.

Also Read: M23 rebels announce 'withdrawal' from DR Congo villages

He could not delve on the matter as he was heading to the regional Parliament for the reading of the EAC budget yesterday.

However, he promised to speak at length on what the EAC was doing to have the worrying conflict tackled once and for all.

Business has been usual at the EAC seat but for days officials have been seen to be concerned by escalating insecurity in eastern Congo.

The apparent silence, at least until yesterday, has raised concern given that DRC is now a bonafide member of the seven-nation EAC bloc.

Also Read: M23 rebels announce 'withdrawal' from DR Congo villages

The giant country, nearly double the size of the erstwhile EAC states combined,was officially admitted as a seventh member in March this year.

Sources close to the secretariat intimated that members of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) were on Wednesday briefed on the situation there.

Members of Eala’s Committee on Regional Affairs, Peace and Security had demanded this following recent bloody clashes north of DRC’s Goma city.

The brief was given on Wednesday by an official of the Secretariat who is in charge of peace and security,the details of which The Citizen could not obtain.

An EAC official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the current security crisis in DR Congo vs M23 should be tackled through recent protocols on the matter.

These, according to him, include the Nairobi Framework on resolving the conflict as recently directed by the UN Security Council.

“The regional leaders should also support President Uhuru Kenyatta (of Kenya) in resolving the crisis,” he said, visibly not optimistic on a solution in the near future.

An Eala MP from Rwanda, Ms Fatuma Ndagiza, said insecurity was not new to the eastern rim of DR Congo “due to governance challenges there in decades”.

She, however, said her country was much more concerned by instability there as it posed “a big threat to Rwanda”.

According to her, there were dozens of armed militia groups in eastern Congo “some of whom are associated with the 1994 genocide in Rwanda”.

There were three approaches that the crisis can be tackled, she told The Citizen at the EAC headquarters.

These are through diplomatic dialogue, the use of force “if need be” or through tackling the persistent conflict in the giant country “from its roots not symptoms”.

However, the Rwandan legislator wondered as to why the DRC authorities blocked M23 from being invited to the Nairobi reconciliation talks.

The East African Business Council (EABC) insisted the regional bloc use the usual mechanisms in place to resolve the conflict.

“After all, DR Congo is a member of EAC,” remarked John Bosco Kalisa, the executive director of the apex body of private sector associations in the region.

He called on the regional leaders to work expeditiously to resolve the security challenges in DRC “to enable business and investments to continue”.

He added that cross border trade in the region was already impacted by the conflict, citing the ban of RwandAir from landing in DR Congo.

“Airlines should not be roped into the conflict,” he said, noting that allegations against Rwanda “are not founded on strong and justifiable evidence”.

Mr Kalisa, however, insisted that the regional business body was non-partisan in the conflict and was looking for an amicable solution.

He said EABC would reach out tothe business chamber in DRC called the Federation of Enterprises in Congo (FEC) on ways to ensure businesses are not seriously hurt.

The Kinshasa authorities have countless times claimed that M23 were supported by Rwanda, a charge repeatedly denied by Kigali.