South Africa has warned that further attacks against its peacekeeping forces by Rwandan-backed rebels would be a “declaration of war”, as regional tensions spiralled following a major new offensive in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Thirteen soldiers from South Africa, deployed as part of a regional peacekeeping force, have been killed since the Rwandan-backed M23 militia last week launched an assault on Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province in eastern DRC.
They have largely seized the city and on Thursday moved into the neighbouring province of South Kivu, according to local media reports and civil society groups, opening a new front and advancing towards the city of Bukavu.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday blamed M23 and Rwanda’s national army, which he described as a “militia”, for the deaths.
The country’s defence minister Angie Motshekga said the president warned Rwanda that “if you’re going to fire, we’ll take it as a declaration of war and we have to defend our people”.
Motshekga said the latest South African casualties had been hit by friendly fire from Rwandan soldiers, and that the South African army had negotiated a temporary truce with the rebels to retrieve the corpses. It was unclear how long the truce will last, or its terms.
More than 100 people have been killed in the fighting in Goma and another 1.5mn displaced, many of whom had sought refuge in the lakeside city from other conflicts in the area. M23 claims it now controls the city.
DRC’s mineral-rich eastern flank has been mired in conflict for decades and is largely cut off from the capital Kinshasa, which is nearly two days away by road.
Dozens of militias including M23, which is backed by more than 4,000 Rwandan troops according to UN experts, are competing for influence and access to essential metals used in everyday devices such as iPhones. Rwanda has been accused of exploiting DRC for its mineral resources.
The latest escalation has triggered a flurry of diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict over concerns it is imperilling regional security.
Leaders of the eight-member group of the east African Community to which Rwanda and DRC belong held an emergency summit on Wednesday calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urged DRC to negotiate with the rebels.
DRC President Félix Tshisekedi skipped the meeting and said in an evening address “the presence of thousands of Rwandan soldiers on our soil . . . [is leading] to an escalation with unpredictable consequences”.
In a sign of the spillover of tensions, the peacekeeper deaths have sparked public anger in South Africa, with some opposition parties calling for a withdrawal amid reports that the troops were under-equipped and ill-prepared.
Jason Stearns, author of The War That Doesn’t Say Its Name: The Unending Conflict in the Congo argued that Rwanda, which used to be a primary exporter of tea and coffee, and now exports gold and other metals, was emboldened by lack of international censure.
The country’s authoritarian “[President Paul] Kagame is trying to see what’s possible”, Stearns said. “They have realised in three years of fighting that there’s not been much pushback” from the west and that instead, “tourism has boomed, aid has gone up and the European Union has gone all in on Rwanda”.
Angry demonstrators attacked the embassies of France, Belgium, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and the US in Kinshasa this week. The US embassy in Kinshasa has advised citizens to shelter in place.
Ramaphosa’s accusations drew an angry riposte from Kagame, who said the characterisation of his conversations with Ramaphosa contained “a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies” and accused peacekeeping troops of contributing to the failure of a proposed peace process.
South Africa and Rwanda, two of the biggest regional powers, have long had a fraught relationship, including over the alleged assassinations of several Rwandan dissidents on South African territory in the past two decades.
Kagame wrote on X: “If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.”
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