DR Congo summons top generals for questioning over defeat of govt forces fighting M23 rebels

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has summoned dozens of top army commanders for questioning in an investigation into battlefield failures.

In Congo, the government has been fighting a yearslong war with the group ‘M23’. Much of the fighting has been in the country’s eastern region of Kivu.

The Congolese military on Monday said that 41 senior army commanders —35 generals and six colonels— have been summoned as part of a process that concerns all officers who have assumed command responsibilities since the capture of Bunagana town by M23 rebels in 2022, according to Anadolu news agency.

The M23 captured the border town of Bunagana in June 2022 in a major strategic defeat for the Congolese government. The town is located on the border of Congo and Uganda and its control granted M23 the control of trade and transit between the two countries.

The questioning is aimed at establishing the responsibilities of each officer in setbacks on the battlefield, according to the military.

Last year, a military court in Congo sentenced 25 soldiers to death for “fleeting the enemy” during battles with M23.

The war between the Congolese government and M23, which is said to be supported by Rwanda, has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and killed hundreds to thousands of people as per various estimates. The M23 has captured a number of major towns in the conflict, such as Bunagana, Goma, Sake, Minova, Lumbishi, and Numbi, and dealt a string of defeats to the government.

Qatar hosts Congo-M23 peace talks

Even as the Congolese military pursued its investigation, Qatar on Tuesday said that Congo and M23 have resumed peace talks at its capital Doha.

“We’ve received the two parties here in Doha from the DRC and the M23” to discuss the implementation of a previous agreement, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said on Tuesday, according to AFP.

The Congolese government and M23 reached a ceasefire agreement in Doha in July aimed at a permanent end to the fighting. But both the sides have since accused the other of breaking the truce. Earlier this month, M23 announced the suspension of peace talks with the government.

Ansari on Tuesday said the current talks in Doha “included the discussions over finding a mechanism of monitoring the ceasefire, alongside (an) exchange of prisoners and detainees”.

Ansari further said that talks were coordinated with the United States and the International Committee of the Red Cross.