{"id":53380,"date":"2025-03-13T13:26:17","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/tshisekedi-is-a-bandit-gen-makenga-speaks-on-m23-s-fight-for-survival-and-sadc\/"},"modified":"2025-03-15T23:14:43","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T23:14:43","slug":"tshisekedi-is-a-bandit-gen-makenga-speaks-on-m23-s-fight-for-survival-and-sadc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/tshisekedi-is-a-bandit-gen-makenga-speaks-on-m23-s-fight-for-survival-and-sadc\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Tshisekedi is a bandit’: Gen Makenga speaks on M23\u2019s fight for survival and SADC troops"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a rare interview with Belgian researcher and former senator Alain Destexhe, Makenga accused President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi of failing to protect all Congolese citizens, labelling him \u201ca bandit\u201d who has shown no love for the country.<\/p>\n

Since late 2021, M23 has reignited its armed struggle, claiming to defend Tutsis, Banyamulenge, Hema, and other Kinyarwanda-speaking communities who face persecution, killings, and other abuses due to their ethnicity. <\/p>\n

\"General<\/figure>\n

Makenga insists that M23 took up arms only because they were \u201cthreatened with extermination.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are fighting for our survival,\u201d Makenga said. \u201cWe could not allow ourselves to be wiped out without reacting. It is unfortunate that the outside world refuses to see this.\u201d <\/p>\n

Citing attacks against Tutsi-majority villages, he pointed to a recent incident in Nturo, Masisi territory, where a village was burned down simply because of its ethnic composition. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe must move beyond this ideology of ethnic hatred and instead promote reconciliation,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Makenga denied that capturing key cities such as Goma and Bukavu was a strategic objective but argued that it became necessary to stop ongoing attacks. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom Goma, the FARDC [Congolese army] and other forces were shelling our positions and the civilians under our protection. We could not tolerate this any longer,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n

He also accused the Congolese and Burundian forces of regrouping in Bukavu and receiving supplies through Kavumu Airport, which, he said, posed a threat that M23 had to neutralize. <\/p>\n

Despite their military successes, Makenga dismissed suggestions that M23 intended to advance on Kinshasa, saying, \u201cNo, unless we are threatened.\u201d <\/p>\n

{{SADC troops and foreign mercenaries}}<\/p>\n

As part of efforts to counter M23\u2019s offensive, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) deployed troops from South Africa, Malawi, and Tanzania to eastern DRC. However, many of these forces are now holed up in bases around Goma following heavy losses. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey can move freely but without weapons. We allow them to resupply,\u201d Makenga stated, adding that M23 has no interest in holding them captive. \u201cWe want them to go home. They are free to leave whenever they wish.\u201d <\/p>\n

The M23 leader also condemned the involvement of foreign mercenaries alongside Congolese forces, particularly the alleged presence of Romanian fighters. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unjust for people to come from Europe to kill those defending their rights. The world should be shocked, but apparently, it is not.\u201d <\/p>\n

Despite the ongoing conflict, Makenga expressed willingness to negotiate, particularly in response to an initiative led by Angola, which currently holds the African Union presidency. <\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, we want negotiations,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have acknowledged Angola\u2019s position, but we have not yet heard anything from Kinshasa.\u201d Shortly after the interview, Kinshasa signaled its acceptance of the talks, with negotiations set to begin on March 18. <\/p>\n

It remains to be seen whether the March 18 talks will bring about the much-needed peace deal in the eastern region.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

General Sultani Makenga, the military leader of the M23 rebel group, has defended his forces’ recent military advances in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), describing their fight as a struggle for survival. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000083590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-53380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000083590,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/w980-p16x9-2012-10-23t204032z_1423426989_gm1e8ao0cys01_rtrmadp_3_congo-democratic_2.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/w980-p16x9-2012-10-23t204032z_1423426989_gm1e8ao0cys01_rtrmadp_3_congo-democratic_2.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/w980-p16x9-2012-10-23t204032z_1423426989_gm1e8ao0cys01_rtrmadp_3_congo-democratic_2.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/w980-p16x9-2012-10-23t204032z_1423426989_gm1e8ao0cys01_rtrmadp_3_congo-democratic_2.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/w980-p16x9-2012-10-23t204032z_1423426989_gm1e8ao0cys01_rtrmadp_3_congo-democratic_2.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/w980-p16x9-2012-10-23t204032z_1423426989_gm1e8ao0cys01_rtrmadp_3_congo-democratic_2.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000083590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53380"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=53380"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=53380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}