Rwanda-backed M23 rebels abduct 130 patients from two hospitals in DRC

M23, a Congolese Tutsi-led paramilitary rebel group believed to be backed by Rwanda, has abducted 130 patients from two hospitals in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a statement by the United Nations (UN).

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Tutsi is one of the ethnic groups in Rwanda, where Hutu natives constitute the majority of the population. The minority Tutsis became targets of a 100-day genocide that killed more than a million people, mostly the Tutsi and moderate Hutus considered to be traitors.

In a statement dated 3 March, the UN said it is “gravely concerned for the safety and wellbeing of at least 130 sick and wounded men the M23 rebels abducted” on 28 February.

The men (patients) suspected to be “DRC army soldiers or members of the pro-Government Wazalendo militia” were abducted from two hospitals in Goma, one of the major cities taken over by M23 rebels where nearly 3,000 people were killed in January.

According to the UN statement, 116 patients were abducted from CBCA Hospital, while the remaining 15 were taken from Heal Africa.

“It is deeply distressing that M23 is snatching patients from hospital beds in coordinated raids and holding them incommunicado in undisclosed locations,” the UN stated, saying M23 must “immediately” release the patients and return them to the hospitals to continue their treatments.

“Under international humanitarian law, which must be respected by all parties in the ongoing conflict, the wounded and sick must be able to receive the medical care and attention they need. Hospitals must be respected and protected in all circumstances, including by refraining from interference with their functioning,” the statement added.

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Inherited fight: How DRC found itself in Rwanda ethnic war

The Rwada genocide began after former president Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was killed alongside his Burundi counterpart in an attack on a plane carrying them on 6 April 1994.

According to research, tension existed between the Hutu-led Rwandan government and the Tutsis before the unresolved assassination. The Tutsis were the favourites of the Belgian colonialists, who ruled the landlocked East African country through their Tutsi proxies.

When the independence crusade hit Africa around the late 1950s, the Hutus rebelled against the Belgian colonialists and the Tutsi elites. This forced the colonial masters and their proxies to flee the country, paving the way for the Hutu government to take over power in 1962. This, however, led to the displacement of Tutsis.

Several groups, including the Uganda-based Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), violently struggled to seize power back from the Hutus to return the refugees home. With support from the Ugandan government of Yoweri Museveni, the RPF, mainly led by Tutsi commanders, including Rwanda’s current president, Paul Kagame, went to war with the Rwandan government in the late 1990s. That war was further worsened by the 6 April 1994 incident, and by June of that year, the RPF claimed victory.

After the war, many Hutus, including government officials, soldiers and militias who participated in the genocide, fled to DRC, from where the soldiers re-strategised and began to launch attacks into Rwanda. This last event, according to a UN document reviewed by this newspaper, led to a war between DRC and Rwanda in 1966.

Since that time, several other conflicts ensued as leaders armed various rebel groups, fueling the war to its current stage where three major militia groups — M23, Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO) — continue to wreak havoc from their minerals-riched enclaves such as North Kivu.

Resurgence of violence in DRC

In less than a month, M23 rebels took over two major cities – Goma and Bukavu in Eastern DRC. The fighting, which began late January, has killed 7,000 people, according to DRC Prime Minister Judith Suminwa.

Ms Suminwa said about 3,000 deaths were reported in Goma alone. She added that about 450,0000 people were suffering a devastating humanitarian crisis, following the destruction of 90 displacement camps.

Unlike 2012, when it took over Goma and withdrew 10 days later after international pressure, the M23 rebels, this time around, continue to stage violence despite calls for a ceasefire, suspension of aid to Rwanda and renewed investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to findings, the group takes its name from the failed March 23 Agreement of 2009 between a Tutsi-led rebel group, the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) and the Congolese government to end the revolt led by the Tutsi people in eastern DRC.

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Barely three years later, some CNDP fighters broke away from the army, citing poor treatment. They subsequently formed the M23, branding themselves as fighters for the oppressed Tutsis in DRC.

Following their 2012 take-over of Goma, the M23 fighters retreated to hillsides of Eastern DRC, bordering Rwanda. They regrouped in 2022 and seized at least four towns — Katale, Masisi, Minova and Sake — in North Kivu. However, they briefly withdrew from these towns in 2023 as per the Nairobi Peace Process, which facilitated a ceasefire until October of that year.

Fighting resurfaced at the beginning of 2024, with deadly attacks recorded since January.

With more than 8,000 fighters in the North Kivu stronghold, according to a UN estimate, the M23 is one of more than 100 armed groups disrupting peace in DRC.