“Rwanda is stubborn in its plan of occupation, looting, crimes”, adds an official.
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has warned citizens to exercise caution after claiming that the Rwandan army and its supporters have invaded Bukavu city in the country’s eastern region of South Kivu province.
According to the Congolese Communication Ministry, “the government is monitoring, hour by hour, the situation in Bukavu, marked by the entry of the Rwandan army and its auxiliaries this morning”, the ministry tweeted on Sunday.
Kavumu airport, which is 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Bukavu, the provincial seat of the eastern province of South Kivu, was reportedly taken over by M23 rebels on Friday, After Kavumu was taken, they also moved into Bukavu.
The Congo’s government called on different foreign powers to support a truce in the area and denounced the disdain for peaceful solutions.
“Rwanda is stubborn in its plan to occupy, loot, and commit crimes and serious human rights violations on our soil”, added the statement.
The government’s security efforts
In addition to advising the populace to “stay at home and avoid exposing all the other seized areas in North and South Kivu that have been afflicted by years of terrible rebellions.
The United Nations reports that since January 26, over 3,000 people have been murdered 2,880 have been injured, and over 500,000 have been displaced, bringing the total number of internally displaced people to 6.4 million.
Conflicts between Congolese military and M23 insurgents have resulted in the deaths of at least 20 peacekeeper, including 14 from South Africa.
Rwanda is accused by Kinshasa of supporting the M23 rebels and deploying troops to eastern Congo at the start of the most recent operation. The claims that Kigali supports the rebels have been refuted on numerous occasions.
