Despite the resistance of the Wazalendos, or “Patriots”, self -defense groups allied to the military, M23 continued to progress, capturing many communities in the east of the DRC, including Kirumba. In January, M23 seized Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, before progressing towards the capital of southern Kivu, Bukavu, which he conquered a month later.
In most cases, the Congolese authorities fled as the M23 approaches, leaving them freely to set up a parallel administration to manage local affairs, construction allowing the police and the administration of lucrative mining resources in the region. Some deposed government officials have joined AFC / m23 and are now working directly for armed groups. Elsewhere, officials who refused to cooperate were replaced, while civil society leaders and customary leaders were followed, threatened or replaced, according to the United Nations report. In Nyiragongo, the administrator of AFC / M23, Ephrem Kabasha, would have removed and tortured the leaders of civil society. Armed groups have also occupied public buildings and destroyed archives, erasing institutional memory and land files – actions related to their plans to reinstall Congolese refugees from Rwanda to the north and south of Kivu.
While public schools and health clinics in occupied areas continue to operate on a limited basis and Congolese officials who remain in their posts continue to receive wages, certain agencies, such as public banks, have completely ceased operations. Many civil society organizations have also closed.
August 12, AFC /M23 announced Steps to establish their own legal system on the territory under the control of the coalition. In a joint declaration, Bertrand Bisimwa, civil president and political leader of M23, and the Nangaa of the AFC has appointed 25 members to a commission which will set up courts and courts in the land seized in the conflict: “After more than six months of security and social stabilization, the restoration of the judicial authority is a strategic priority.”
Since their arrival in Kirumba over a year ago, AFC / M23 has not seemed particularly interested in tax collection. In the void, residents wishing to build permanent structures began to do so without AFC / m23 permit. Some construction projects began under the control of the government and interrupted due to the war have been restarted. Now, a mixture of residential and commercial construction is underway in almost all Kirumba districts.
But the AFC / M23 administration did not adopt the same approach everywhere: in Goma, for example, traders already complain about the exorbitant taxes imposed by the armed group. Meanwhile, war ended the important parties of the economy. When M23 grabbed Goma and Bukavu, the banks closed. In July, according to the United Nations group of experts, no bank operated in territory under AFC / M23 control.
Military and diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have been underway for months, the Congolese government calling for the total withdrawal of M23. The DRC-Rwanda agreement signed in Washington, DC in June, aimed to mitigate tensions between the two countries. At the same time, the declaration of principles of the DRC-M23 in Doha, signed in July under the auspices of Qatar, called for a cease-fire and described a roadmap for the bilateral negotiations which were to start in August. The two parties have since accused the other of launching attacks in violation of the agreement.