AFC/M23 Deputy Leader Bertrand Bisimwa said that the group’s military operations in Minembwe Commune are aimed at preventing massacres like the one committed against the Banyamulenge in the Gatumba camp in Burundi in August 2004.
Bisimwa explained this when AFC/M23 and its partners commemorated the Gatumba massacre, stressing that what happened then should not be considered history while people continue to be killed because of their ethnicity.
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Bisimwa Accuses DRC and Allied Forces of Attacks
He accused the DRC, Burundian, Wazalendo, FDLR and foreign mercenaries of launching attacks in Minembwe and putting the commune in a box so that the inhabitants are deprived of food, medicine, clean water and other necessities as a means of killing them slowly.
He said, “In dealing with this problem, the revolutionary forces did not sit idly by. They took on the responsibility of preventing these atrocities and contributing to the restoration of lasting peace in Minembwe. Our forces intervened to stop another massacre that was being carried out. It is a criminal plan prepared by the Kinshasa government.”
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AFC/M23 Says Minembwe Faces Threat of Another Massacre
Bisimwa indicated that the plan of the DRC government and its partners for Minembwe was to kill the Banyamulenge as was done in the Gatumba camp 22 years ago.
He said, “This policy of extermination led by the Kinshasa government must stop. Our community has carried out ground operations, aimed at preventing another massacre in Minembwe like the one that took place in Gatumba.”
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Gatumba Massacre Killed 166 Banyamulenge
The Gatumba massacre took place on the night of 13 to 14 August 2004. 166 Banyamulenge were killed and 106 others were injured. The armed group FNL-PARIPEHUTU has confirmed its involvement.
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The AFC/M23 says that the Gatumba incident should serve as a warning to prevent further acts of genocide against civilians.
