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Corneille Nangaa leading a massive tree planting compaign in Goma
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo, coordinator of the Alliance Fleuve Congo, on Saturday dismissed new United Nations sanctions against him, saying they would not halt his movement’s “existential struggle” in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Nangaa spoke while launching a large-scale tree-planting and reforestation campaign in Goma, North Kivu Province, a region controlled by the AFC/M23 coalition. The group says the environmental effort aims to restore vegetation, preserve ecosystems and counter climate change.
The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Nangaa days earlier over his alleged role in fueling the armed insurgency in eastern DRC. Nangaa, who chaired the DRC’s Independent National Electoral Commission from 2015 to 2021 and oversaw the disputed 2018 presidential election, was designated alongside several armed group leaders operating in the region.
Those sanctioned include John Imani Nzenze, the M23’s chief of intelligence; Sébastien Uwimbabazi of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR); Muhammed Lumisa of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF); Charles Sematama of the Twirwaneho armed group; and Gustave Kubwayo of the FDLR-FOCA. Addressing supporters after the launch of the reforestation campaign, Nangaa dismissed the sanctions and asset freezes imposed by the UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union as politically motivated.
He said the measures were intended to intimidate him and weaken the AFC/M23 campaign but insisted they did not affect his resolve. Nangaa vowed to continue pursuing what he described as an existential struggle despite increasing international pressure. His remarks came on the same day that Benjamin Mbonimpa, the Executive Secretary of the AFC/M23 alliance, addressed residents in Lubero Territory, North Kivu Province.
Mbonimpa said the movement had no intention of withdrawing from areas under its control and would continue protecting what it described as the peace it had restored in those territories. The conflict between the M23 rebel movement, led by Bertrand Bisimwa and military commander Emmanuel Sultan Makenga, and the Congolese government intensified in March 2022. Since then, the rebels have seized and continue to control large parts of North Kivu Province.
In August 2024, M23 formally allied with Nangaa’s Alliance Fleuve Congo, expanding the rebellion’s political and military structure. The Congolese government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels, allegations that have been denied by both the Rwandan government and the rebel movement. The AFC/M23 maintains that its armed campaign seeks to address corruption, discrimination and xenophobia within the Congolese state.
, https://eastafricanwatch.net/un-sanctions-wont-stop-afc-m23-movement-rebel-chief/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=un-sanctions-wont-stop-afc-m23-movement-rebel-chief
