نزاع شرق جمهورية الكونغوالديمقراطية 2012
التاريخ 4 أبريل 2012 – مستمر المسقط {{{place
الخصوم
حركة 23 مارس القوات الموالية المدعمة من:  رواندا  أوغندا	جمهورية الكونغوالديمقراطية الأمم المتحدة القوات الديمقراطية من أجل تحرير رواندا مليشيات ماي-ماي  أنگولا  زيمبابوي القوات الموالية للهوتو
القادة والزعماء
بوسكونتاگاندا سلطاني ماكنگا	جوسف كابيلا
القوات
2,500 + من المنشقين عن الجيش	10,000 جندي كونغولي 4,000 من قوات حفظ السلام في كوڤو
الخسائر
351 قتيل، 250 جريح، 374 أسير	42 قتيل، 93 جريح 600 مشرد
قتيل هندي من قوات حفظ السلام

نزاع شرق جمهورية الكونغوالديمقراطية 2012، هوقتال دائر بدأ في محافظة شمال كيڤومنذ إنتهاء حرب الكونغوالثانية في مارس 2002. في أبريل 2012، تمرد جنود ضد حكومة الكونغوالديمقراطية. أسس المتمردون جماعة متمردة أطلق عليها اسم حركة 23 مارس، تتألف من أعضاء سابقون في المؤتمر الوطني من أجل الدفاع عن الشعب. قائد المؤتمر السابق بوسكونتاگاندا، الشهير باسم "المُنهي" أدين بقيادة هذا التمرد.

في 20 نوفمبر 2012، سيطرت حركة 23 مارس على گوما، عاصمة المحافظة والتي يبلغ عدد سكانها مليون نسمة.

خلفية

في مارس 2009، سقط المؤتمر الوطني من أجل الدفاع عن الشعب معاهدة سلام مع الحكومة، والتي تم الموافقة فيها على تغيير المؤتمر إلى حزب سياسي في لقاء إطلاق سراح أعضاء المؤتمر المعتقلين. في أربعة أبريل 2012، أعرب عن نتگاندا و300 من القوات الموالية له قد هُزمومن قبل القوات الحكومية بعد اشتباكهم في اقليم روتشوروشمال گوما.

Congo Siasa's Jason Stearns reported on أربعة May 2012 that Colonel Sultani Makenga had joined the CNDP/M23 mutiny. Starns commented that '[t]his is a significant development, since Makenga was the second highest ranking CNDP officer behind Bosco in the Amani Leo structure as the deputy commander of South Kivu.'نطقب:Self-published source

A UN report stated that the rebels were getting support from Rwanda. 25 Rwandan members of M23 have surrendered to Congolese forces as part of a total of over 370 M23 soldiers that have surrendered so far. Rwanda denied that it was backing the rebels, calling the accusation an attempt to make the nation a "scapegoat" for DRC's problems.

بدء الأعمال العدائية

Onستة July 2012, M23 attacked and took the town of Bunagana less than a kilometer from the border with Uganda. Some 600 DRC troops fled across the border and took refuge in Uganda. The rebels issued a statement that they would cease their offensive if the government agreed to holding peace talks with them. The United Nations condemned rebel attacks in the region after an Indian peacekeeper was killed in the fighting.

Onثمانية July, the rebels captured Rutshuru, 70 kilometers north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. Byعشرة July, they were 40 kilometers from Goma itself. Witnesses said rebels appeared to be taking towns and villages with ease, with government troops usually melting away. The towns of Rubare and Ntamugenga had also reportedly fallen to the rebels.

On 20 July, M23 and government forces exchanged heavy weapons fire around Kibumba and Rugari, forcing thousands of civilians to flee towards Goma. UN helicopter gunships were seen headed towards the front line. The security situation in eastern Congo was described as rapidly becoming worse.

The US government announced on 21 July that it would cut military aid to Rwanda. US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp stated that Rwandan authorities could be charged for "aiding and abetting" war crimes: "There is a line that one can cross under international law where you can be held responsible for aiding a group in a way that makes possible their commission of atrocities."

وقف إطلاق النار

Fighting broke out again in November 2012, with reports of heavy gunfire and explosions near Goma. Both sides blamed the other for the outbreak of hostilities. Government forces claimed M23 rebels suffered 110 dead, a claim the rebels rebuked. Government forces reportedly used tanks and helicopters in the fighting, which saw rebels inch closer to Goma.

United Nations helicopter gunships were deployed to support government forces as they fought to hold off a rebel attack south of Kibumba. The latest rebel assault put them within 18 miles of Goma. The Army retreated under heavy fire to the southern outskirts of Kibumba after being forced back by the rebels according to the provincial governor. The government army began to regroup around the nearby town of Kilimanyoka after the retreat. Later on rebels claimed to have seized control of Kibumba but said they had no plans on attacking Goma. A UN spokesman told that the M23 appeared to be well equipped with night vision equipment and 120mm mortars.

On 18 November, it was reported that Congolese troops and the administration were leaving Goma in a hurry as M23 was at the gates of the city. The North Kivu governor left on a boat in route to the South Kivu. The United Nations troops did not react when the rebels bypassed their camp on the road to Goma. The following day, M23 demanded that the Congolese government open peace talks, or face an escalation of fighting. On the same day, Rwanda claimed that Congelese government forces fired tank and mortar shells across the border into its territory. The DRC confirmed the incident, but claimed that Rwanda shelled its own territory to justify a wider-scale intervention in the DRC.

معركة گوما

M23 fires began an assault against army positions in Goma on 19 November, sending mortar shells and machinegun fire into the city which was still being defended by the government army. M23 spokeman Lt Col Vianney Kazarma said "Fighting is already taking place on the streets of Goma this morning." The DRC government spokeman confirmed the claim saying "We have yet to stop this attack; they have not taken Goma yet." Congolese army units were reported to be holding defensive positions in the city centre and the airport armed with tanks and machineguns.

M23 forces entered the city proper on 20 November, advancing on foot up the main road towards the city centre. Heavy bursts of small arms fire could be heard in the city and near the airport. M23 was reported to have captured the Goma International Airport. Though other reports claimed that UN forces retained control of the airport, with Lt Gen Chandar Prakash, commander of UN forces in the area claiming that M23 attacked the peacekeepers but were repelled. M23 moved in two columns from Sake, eventually capturing most of Goma as well as a nearby border post with Rwanda. Some government soldiers took off their uniforms before fleeing the city. By late morning, Congolese government troops had been forced back to the west of the city, with many abandoning their positions and withdrawing westwards from Goma entirely. Police officers stood down at the border as M23 took over the immigration offices.

M23 made a statement later on announcing "The town of Goma fell at 11:33 local time, despite the attack helicopters, despite the heavy weapons, the FARDC (Congo army) has let the town fall into our hands". Reuters reports on the scene confirmed that heavily armed M23 soldiers were present and walking through the city unchallenged, and that the UN peacekeepers present were not resisting the M23 advance through the city. A small group of residents came onto the streets to greet the rebel takeover.

DR Congo president Joseph Kabila urged the city's people to "resist" the group's takeover. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon criticized M23 for alleged human rights violations during the takeover, including destruction of property, "intimidation of journalists", and the abduction of women and children. Noting that the First Congo War had begun with fighting in the same region, the New York Times described Goma's takeover as "raising serious questions about the stability of Congo as a whole."

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