CONGO: Chaotic scenes unfolded in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu on Saturday after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels reached its outskirts, while a threat by Uganda’s army chief to attack a Congolese town raised fears of the conflict flaring into a wider regional war.
The rebels have been pushing south toward Bukavu, the second-largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, since they seized Goma, the largest city, at the end of last month.
On Saturday, the World Food Programme’s depot in Bukavu, which housed 6,800 metric tons of food, was being looted, a spokesperson told Reuters.
The stolen supplies would deepen the difficulties faced by those in need, Claude Kalinga said, with the agency’s activities already suspended for weeks due to the deteriorating security situation.
Sporadic gunfire was heard overnight and into Saturday morning, according to multiple Bukavu residents, who said the shots were fired by looters.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of a rebel alliance that includes the M23, said on Friday evening that the rebels had entered Bukavu and would continue their operation in the city on Saturday.
Two residents of the northern Bukavu suburb of Bagira said they had seen rebels on the streets and no sign of fighting.
An M23 source, two Congolese army officers and multiple Bukavu residents, however, said on Saturday that the rebels had not yet entered the city center.
One of the army officers said soldiers were being evacuated in order to avoid “carnage” like in Goma. About 3,000 people were killed in the days preceding the capture of that city, according to the United Nations.
Congolese soldiers could be seen on the streets of Bukavu on Saturday, according to eyewitnesses. The soldiers set fire to a weapons depot at their army base there, according to five residents and a military source.
The capture of Bukavu, a city of about 2 million according to the mayor, would represent an unprecedented expansion of territory under the M23’s control since the latest insurgency started in 2022, and deal a further blow to Kinshasa’s authority in Congo’s eastern borderlands, which are rich in minerals.
On Saturday, the chief of Uganda’s defense forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said in a post on X that he would attack the town of Bunia in neighboring eastern Congo unless “all forces” there surrendered their arms within 24 hours.
The threat by Kainerugaba, whose father is President Yoweri Museveni, adds to fears that Africa’s Great Lakes region risks slipping back into a broader war reminiscent of conflicts in the 1990s and 2000s that killed millions.
Uganda’s military has since 2021 supported the Congolese army in its fight against Islamist militants in the east, and deployed another 1,000 soldiers there in late January and early February.
But UN experts say Uganda has also backed the ethnic Tutsi-led M23.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged dialogue between the warring parties in a speech at an African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa on Saturday.
Leaders from Eastern and Southern African regional blocs last weekend also urged all parties to hold direct talks, but Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has repeatedly refused to talk directly to the M23 and canceled his appearance at the AU summit, sending his prime minister to represent Congo.
Tshisekedi returned to Kinshasa on Saturday morning, according to the presidency, after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday.
Kigali has denied backing M23, and President Paul Kagame said on Facebook on Saturday that he had told the AU peace and Security Council that “Rwanda has nothing to do with Congo’s problems.”
The United States has warned of possible sanctions against Rwandan and Congolese officials. The European Union said on Saturday it is considering using all the means at its disposal to protect Congo.
Looting in eastern Congo’s Bukavu as M23 rebels reach suburbs
https://arab.news/ysvzn
Looting in eastern Congo’s Bukavu as M23 rebels reach suburbs
- The stolen supplies would deepen the difficulties faced by those in need, Claude Kalinga said
- Two residents of the northern Bukavu suburb of Bagira said they had seen rebels on the streets and no sign of fighting.
India accelerates free trade agreements against backdrop of US tariffs
- India signed a CEPA with Oman on Thursday and a CETA with the UK in July
- Delhi is also in advanced talks for trade pacts with the EU, New Zealand, Chile
NEW DELHI: India has accelerated discussions to finalize free trade agreements with several nations, as New Delhi seeks to offset the impact of steep US import tariffs and widen export destinations amid uncertainties in global trade.
India signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Oman on Thursday, which allows India to export most of its goods without paying tariffs, covering 98 percent of the total value of India’s exports to the Gulf nation.
The deal comes less than five months after a multibillion-dollar trade agreement with the UK, which cut tariffs on goods from cars to alcohol, and as Indian trade negotiators are in advanced talks with New Zealand, the EU and Chile for similar partnerships.
They are part of India’s “ongoing efforts to expand its trade network and liberalize its trade,” said Anupam Manur, professor of economics at the Takshashila Institution.
“The renewed efforts to sign bilateral FTAs are partly an after-effect of New Delhi realizing the importance of diversifying trade partners, especially after India’s biggest export market, the US, levied tariff rates of up to 50 percent on India.”
Indian exporters have been hit hard by the hefty tariffs that went into effect in August.
Months of negotiations with Washington have not clarified when a trade deal to bring down the tariffs would be signed, while the levies have weighed on sectors such as textiles, auto components, metals and labor-intensive manufacturing.
The FTAs with other nations will “help partially in mitigating the effects of US tariffs,” Manur said.
In particular, Oman can “act as a gateway to other Gulf countries and even parts of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Africa,” and the free trade deal will most likely benefit “labor-intensive sectors in India,” he added.
The chances of concluding a deal with Washington “will prove to be difficult,” said Arun Kumar, a retired economics professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
“With the US, the chances of coming to (an agreement) are a bit difficult, because they want to get our agriculture market open, which we cannot do. They want us to reduce trade with Russia. That’s also difficult for India to do,” he told Arab News.
US President Donald Trump has threatened sanctions over India’s historic ties with Moscow and its imports of Russian oil, which Washington says help fund Moscow’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
“President Trump is constantly creating new problems, like with H-1B visa and so on now. So some difficulty or the other is expected. That’s why India is trying to build relationships with other nations,” Kumar said, referring to increased vetting and delays under the Trump administration for foreign workers, who include a large number of Indian nationals.
“Substituting for the US market is going to be tough. So certainly, I think India should do what it can do in terms of promoting trade with other countries.”
India has free trade agreements with more than 10 countries, including comprehensive economic partnership agreements with South Korea, Japan, and the UAE.
It is in talks with the EU to conclude an FTA, amid new negotiations launched this year for trade agreements, including with New Zealand and Chile.
India’s approach to trade partnerships has been “totally transformed,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a press briefing following the signing of the CEPA with Oman, which Indian officials aim to enter into force in three months.
“Now we don’t do FTAs with other developing nations; our focus is on the developed world, with whom we don’t compete,” he said. “We complement and therefore open up huge opportunities for our industry, for our manufactured goods, for our services.”
