Ceasefire Violated in DRC Despite Luanda Deal

Less than 24 hours after going into effect on August 4th, the ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was violated. The violation came from the M23 rebels, who seized a town on the border of Uganda named Ishasha. The move broke the pledge between Rwanda and the DRC, brokered by the Angolan President in Luanda, Angola, to halt fighting between the DRC and the M23..An Uneasy Ceasefire.Besides the violation of the ceasefire in Ishasha, the ceasefire appears to have largely held in other parts of the DRC..What is particularly notable about this violation, is that it appears to have taken place without any actual fighting. Local sources have reported that the M23 seized the town without any fight, as there were no military installments in the town..Only local police were present, who fled across the border to Uganda. Ugandan authorities report that a total of 98 Congolese officers fled across the border, fitted with 43 guns amongst them. The officers were disarmed by Ugandan soldiers..Following their seizure of the town, the M23 held a local meeting in which they encouraged civilians to go about their business, and called upon the police officers who had fled to return..Further, they called upon pro-government militias to join them, and upon the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, an anti-Rwandan government and anti-Tutsi militant group, to "go back home to Rwanda.".Publicly, the M23 did not release any statement acknowledging that they had taken the town. Instead, they published several videos showing celebrating crowds, captioned "wherever we go the population meets for either for the peace of mind, or seeing their uncle, their brother, their cousin, their son, their former neighbor.".A separate statement stated that amongst populations in areas the M23 is present, there is "popular jubilation.".Details on the Ceasefire.The ceasefire that is presently in effect was negotiated in Luanda, Angola, between ministerial authorities of the DRC and Rwanda, the alleged supporters of the M23..Though the ceasefire was established between Rwanda and the DRC, it was extended to the M23. The M23 released a statement saying that although they were not a party to negotiations in Angola, that they would still adhere to the ceasefire..The ceasefire established is a part of the larger Luanda process, first established in 2022, that seeks to deescalate tensions and create peace between Rwanda and the DRC. The process was established among particularly heightened tensions and fears that the two nations may go to war for the third time..While conflict has not erupted, tensions have remained high. In the past several months efforts have been made by Angola to revive the Luanda process, as shown by the present ceasefire..The Angolan-negotiated ceasefire takes over from an American-mediated ceasefire between the DRC's military and the M23 that had originally gone into effect on July 5th for two weeks, before being extended for another two week period, officially ending on August 3rd, at 11:59PM..During this time there were no widespread clashes reported between the DRC and the M23, though the M23 did claim at one point that the DRC had violated the ceasefire. However, there were repeat clashes between the M23 and the Wazalendo, government-sanctioned local civil defense militia that often cooperates with the government..The clashes saw the M23 seize several localities from the Wazalendo at the end of July..Death Sentences.Amidst the ceasefires, beginning on July 24th, a DRC military court had been holding a trial in which 26 individuals were accused of involvement in armed groups, including the M23..The prosecutor was seeking the death penalty for 25 of the suspects, and a 20-year prison sentence for the last remaining individual..Twenty-one of the defendants were sentenced to death in absentia. Among them are Bertrand Bisimwa, the leader of the M23, Sultani Makenga, the M23's military chief, Willy Ngoma, the M23's military spokesman, and Lawrence Kanyuka, the M23's general spokesman..In addition, former President of the DRC's Electoral Commission, Corneille Nangaa, was also sentenced to death..Nangaa heads the Alliance Fleuve Congo (Congo River Alliance, AFC), an association of armed groups and DRC politicians that seek to band together against the government. The AFC's creation was in December. Though the alliance technically consists of several groups, all of the groups within the AFC are rather insignificant in the general region and so the M23 forms the bulk of the AFC's military force and much of its political force..As such, the M23 effectively maintains leadership in the group and AFC has become synonymous with the M23..Nangaa released a statement following the sentencing, which occurred on August 8th, stating that "these sentences only bind and concern those who pronounced them.".Bisimwa did not release a statement explicitly referencing the sentencing, however did publish a message detailing the story of French WW2 resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who was sentenced to death in absentia by the German satellite state of Vichy France in 1940. Bisimwa's message ended with a description of the liberation of Paris..Ngoma and Kanyuka did not release any personalized statements on the matter..These death sentences come shortly after the DRC had recently lifted the moratorium on the death penalty in the nation..Beyond the M23, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi recently in a televised statement accused his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, of preparing insurrection and further claiming that "the AFC is him.".Kabila is not known to have a connection to the AFC. However, several members of his People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy have joined the AFC, and are presently undergoing their own trials in a military court.