In a strongly worded statement released on Thursday, July 24, 2025, AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said that while regional and international actors are preoccupied with interpreting the recently signed declaration of principles, the Congolese government has continued large-scale troop deployments and military operations in civilian-populated areas.
'While everyone is bogged down in interpreting the declaration of principles, the illegitimate Kinshasa regime relentlessly continues the deployment of its troops on all fronts, directs its heavy weapons toward densely populated areas, and intensifies offensives in the Uvira Highlands, targeting the Banyamulenge villages of Rurambo,' Kanyuka said.
Kanyuka added that the offensives, carried out by a coalition of Congolese government forces (FARDC), the FDLR, Maï-Maï Wazalendo, and the Burundi Defence Force, have killed numerous civilians and worsened an already dire humanitarian situation.
The statement marks the latest in a series of accusations levelled by the AFC/M23 movement against the Congolese government in the aftermath of peace initiatives launched in Washington and Doha.
On July 17, the group publicly warned of continued military aggression from Kinshasa, claiming it undermines the peace efforts being pursued in Doha, Qatar.
Two days earlier, the group had accused government forces of killing four of its members in what it described as a demonstration of 'warlike intentions' that contradicted the spirit of dialogue.
At the time, Kanyuka reaffirmed the group's intention to protect civilians and eliminate threats 'at their source", in a video shared on social media.
'We will not yield to intimidation or the manoeuvres of an illegitimate and bloodthirsty regime, which sacrifices peace for the sake of its selfish interests.'
The Doha negotiations, led by Qatar, were brokered to end the fighting in eastern DRC, which earlier this year saw the rebels capture large swathes of territory, including the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu. The rebels accuse President Félix Tshisekedi's administration of marginalising Kinyarwanda-speaking communities and practising poor governance.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
