Democratic Republic of Congo has asked Chad for military support to help fight a spiralling insurgency by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in its eastern provinces, a Chadian official and a source at the Congolese presidency said.
Congo’s Minister of Regional Integration met with Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on Tuesday on behalf of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, Chad’s presidency said in a Facebook post.
Details on the discussions were not disclosed. A Chadian official with knowledge of the discussions said Chad was considering a request for support from Congo, but had not yet made a decision on the request.
A source at the Congolese presidency said on Wednesday that Congo had requested military and diplomatic support from Chad.
Neither source provided further detail. They declined to be named for confidentiality reasons.
Chad’s government spokesman Gassim Cherif did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Tshisekedi’s spokesperson, Tina Salama, said she did not have any information on the matter.
Last week, Chad’s Foreign Affairs Minister told Reuters that sending military support to Congo was “pure speculation”.
Volleys of gunfire rang out in Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern border town of Uvira on Wednesday, local sources said, as clashes broke out among allied forces amid the advance of Rwanda-backed rebels.
Residents and officials described scenes of looting, bodies lying in the street, and government soldiers commandeering boats to flee across Lake Tanganyika. The local prison was also emptied, they said.
The M23 rebels have been moving south towards Uvira, which shares a lake border with Burundi, since they seized the provincial capital Bukavu over the weekend – the heaviest loss for Congo since the fall of the region’s largest city Goma in late January.
Source: Reuters