Congo Ceasefire Violated... Again

The military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), alongside their adversary the M23 rebels, reported a violation of the ceasefire in place in the nation. The violation is just one of many since the ceasefire went into effect earlier this month..Another ViolationBoth the DRC and the M23 accused the other of assaulting their positions in different locations.M23 military spokesman Willy Ngoma released a statement claiming that the government had assaulted M23 positions near to Kirumba. Kirumba is a local economic hub that the M23 managed to seize, alongside the town of Kanyabayonga, close to the end of June.The DRC did not acknowledge this fighting, instead claiming that the M23 launched an assault upon army positions around Kikubo, in the Lubero territory. Kikubo, where the DRC announced clashes, is approximately 12 kilometres away from Kirumba, where the M23 announced clashes..Both of these clashes are, of course, in violation of an ongoing ceasefire. The present ceasefire in place in the DRC was mediated by Angola and went into effect on August 4th. Since this point, however, including within the first 24 hours, the ceasefire has been violated.Several clashes between the M23 and government forces have taken place, and the M23 has managed to seize several different townships. Notably, some of these towns have been taken without any resistance from opposing forces.When the M23 seized the town of Ishasha, on the Congolese border with Uganda, on August 4th, there were no Congolese military personnel present in the town, with it only being defended by local police. The local police fled across the Ugandan border when the M23 moved to take the town..Ninety-eight Congolese police officers fled across the border and were taken in by Ugandan border authorities, who later repatriated the officers back to the DRC.Two weeks later, on August 15th, 16 civilians were killed amidst clashes between the M23 and the Wazalendo, a government sanctioned civil defence militia.The exact circumstances of the deaths are unclear, however seven civilians were killed when the Wazalendo initially assaulted M23 positions in the Rutshuru territory. Nine more civilians were later killed in a second clash between the two forces, when a vehicle was set on fire, killing nine of its passengers.Despite the clashes, violations, and several townships that have since fallen under M23 control, the ceasefire technically still remains in place, and fighting has remained tame when compared to prior to the ceasefire.The CeasefireThe present ceasefire took over from an American-mediated ceasefire that had initially began on July 5th. The ceasefire was established during a time of intense fighting and amidst the DRC's wider humanitarian crisis. Several million people within the eastern DRC, where over 120 different armed groups operate, have been displaced in recent years, including hundreds of thousands since fighting intensified between the DRC and the M23 in January.The ceasefire was established as a part of the Luanda Process, a political process established by Angola meant to bring about peaceful conditions between Rwanda, the alleged supporters of the M23, and the DRC. Though the process was initially aiming to create dialogue between the two nations, it has now expanded into aiming to produce peaceful conditions on the ground with rebel groups, specifically the M23, while maintaining its larger scope, state-to-state dialogue goals.In recent times under this process the Foreign Ministers of the DRC and Rwanda have met on several occasions. More meeting between the ministers are planned.There is also a plan for a face-to-face meeting between DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. The two presidents had originally agreed to this meeting in March, however it has yet to take place and no date has been set.There still remains in the eastern DRC several pressing matters, namely insurgencies waged by other groups such as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), who has been responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths in recent months, and CODECO, who has additionally been responsible for numerous civilian deaths.Several international entities, such as the US and the UN, have put their faith behind the Luanda process, and called for all parties to respect the ceasefire.