By CHIMPREPORTS
The Congolese Defence Minister, Jean Pierre Bemba and army commander Gen Christian Tshiwewe have flown from Kinshasa to the strategic town of Sake in eastern DRC which has been besieged by M23 rebels for several weeks.
The two high ranking defence officials arrived in Sake on Friday to assess the preparedness of the Congolese armed forces to defend the town as well as Goma city.
“We appeal to the people of North Kivu to remain calm and trust their armed forces in the defence of Sake and Goma,” said Bemba upon arrival in Sake.
“President Tshisekedi is doing everything possible for the return of peace and liberation of all areas under occupation of the Rwandan army,” he added.
Congo accuses Rwanda of helping M23 rebels to destabilise the eastern part of the mineral-rich country for economic exploitation, a charge Kigali denies.
Kigali also blames Congo for arming the FDLR militia group to commit atrocities against ethnic Tutsis in DRC and also attack Rwanda. Kinshasa dismissed the accusation as false.
United Nations’ investigative reports have proved that both countries have provided support to FDLR and M23.
The arrival of Bemba and Tshiwewe in Sake shows the seriousness with which Tshisekedi takes the deteriorating security situation in North Kivu.
Intense fighting
The M23 rebel movement this past Wednesday registered heavy casualties in its attempts to capture the strategic town of Sake, about 30 kilometres from Goma city in Eastern DRC.
However, the Congolese army, which is now backed by Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) forces, managed to put up a strong defence, sending the rebels into disarray.
Dozens of rebels were killed and many more captured by Congolese special forces.
The rebels were pushed back to Bukarara and Kingi – about 15 kms from Sake . Government forces also recovered dozens of machine guns and other heavy weaponry used by the rebels.
As of Saturday morning, intense fighting was being reported in the hills overlooking Sake.
“The city of Goma and the city of Sake will never fall to the rebels,” Bemba told media in Sake on Friday.
The renewed fighting forced thousands of residents of Sake to flee to Goma.
The capture of Sake would be a scandal for Congolese and United Nations forces which have spent almost a year building defences for the town which sits at a very critical junction linking several roads to Goma.
The MONUSCO Force Commander, Brigadier General Otávio Rodrigues de Miranda Filho in November 2023 ordered the formation of defence systems to defend Sake and Goma from falling into M23’s hands.
At the time, the rebels were advancing towards the south, along the national road 2 (RN2) and from provincial road 1030 towards Sake, a city which is intended to be an essential point in the defence of Goma.
“We decided, first of all, to establish a solid defence line at the entrance to Goma and Sake,” said Otavio, emphasising, “This is a defensive approach for now, but if illegal armed groups try to attack Sake and Goma, we will move from a defensive to an offensive position.”
Capturing Sake means choking off the Congolese armed forces’ supply routes to Goma.
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