Uganda is supporting M23 rebels fighting across its border in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, UN experts say, warning that a rapidly escalating crisis “carries the risk of triggering a wider regional conflict”.
The well-armed M23 is often accused of being a Rwandan proxy force, but UN experts have presented evidence to suggest it also has Ugandan support.
Uganda has denied allegations in the UN report that also accuses Rwanda of having up to 4,000 soldiers in DR Congo fighting alongside the rebels.
In response, Rwanda did not deny the allegation and told the BBC that the DR Congo government lacked the political will to resolve the crisis in its mineral-rich east, which has witnessed decades of unrest.
UN experts said Rwandan troops were “equalling, if not exceeding”, the number of M23 fighters, estimated at around 3,000 in mid-April, on Congolese soil.
Rwanda has long been angered by the presence of ethnic Hutu rebels, known as the FDLR, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo – joint operations in the past have failed to eliminate them.
The group’s leaders are accused of participating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.
The Tutsi-led M23 first emerged with great ferocity in 2012, only to be defeated the following year with the help of a multinational force when most of its fighters fled to camps in Rwanda and Uganda.
They began rearming three years ago and the group now controls swathes of territory in North Kivu province, where the UN report says the M23 has set up a parallel administration.
It is estimated that three million people have fled their homes due to the fighting.
The 293-page report by UN expertswhich covers events up to mid-April, has just been published – but was first handed over to the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee and then sent to the UN Security Council last month.
Its report also warned that the Burundian military had been involved in operations with the Congolese army against the M23 and Rwandan soldiers, exacerbating regional tensions.
DR Congo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, said she was concerned about allegations of collusion between the Ugandan army, M23 and the Rwandan military.
She said the issue would be raised with Uganda, with whom DR Congo has been involved in a joint offensive against another rebel group, the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which attacks both countries.
But the UN report states that it is likely that Uganda is allowing M23 supplies and new recruits through its territory.
“Since the resurgence of the M23 crisis, Uganda has not prevented the presence of M23 and Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) troops on or through its territory,” he said.
Ugandan military intelligence officers have also been in the Congolese city of Bunagana since at least late 2023 “to coordinate with M23 leaders, provide logistics, and transport M23 leaders to the M23-controlled area.”
The report also noted that M23 leaders, including its military chief, Sultani Makenga – who is subject to a travel ban imposed by UN sanctions – traveled to Uganda for meetings.
Uganda’s deputy military spokesman Deo Akiiki told the Reuters news agency that the report’s allegations were false: “It would be crazy for us to destabilize the same area, we are sacrificing everything to keep it stable.”
But the report further details Uganda’s alleged support for the Fleuve Congo Alliance (AFC) – a newly created movement considered by some analysts to be the political arm of the M23.
It is led by DR Congo’s former electoral chief and says it wants to bring peace to the east, but according to sources cited in the UN report, it has been seen as an opportunity to legitimize the M23 “while diminishing Rwanda’s role in the crisis.” .
A joint statement by AFC-M23 in response to a leaked version of the report said UN experts had distorted the situation, which could “obstruct the creation of lasting peace”.
It also provided detailed accounts of other things it considered incorrect, such as an alleged M23 attack on Goma airport and the M23’s alleged forced recruitment and use of child soldiers, which Rwanda also denies.
The AFC-M23 also denied Rwanda’s involvement in the conflict, stating that the “obsession with establishing a link between the M23 and Rwanda contributes to fueling the ideology of hate that is the root cause of the violence” in eastern DR Congo.
The UN report states that, at the beginning of April 2024, the area of influence of M23 and the Rwandan military was the largest ever recorded – representing a 70% increase since November.
It stated that the deployment of advanced military technology and equipment has reinforced joint M23-Rwanda military operations, “changing the dynamics of the conflict”, including the grounding of all Congolese military “air assets”.
The report included photos and screenshots detailing the weapons and drones used – allegedly supplied to the M23 despite an arms embargo.
Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo accused Congolese President Félix Tshisikedi of violence.
“He has also consistently threatened to declare war on Rwanda,” she told the BBC, accusing the Congolese army of funding and fighting alongside the FDLR.
She said DR Congo has all the power to calm the situation if it so wishes, “but until then Rwanda will continue to defend itself”.
A regional force from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) was deployed late last year to help DR Congo’s military deal with conflict in the east.
Additional reporting by BBC’s Gladys Kigo.
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