SAYIYA nax 256

Tshisekedi and his backers in Brussels and Bujumbura need to treat ARC as a serious army and AFC as a serious political force. I saw M23 in Goma in 2012—and again 13 years later. Believe me, ARC is not a regular rebellion. Their military and political organization is on another level, and Tshisekedi should take that as a warning and accept dialogue. I just watched Gen. Makenga review over 7,000 soldiers, some of whom once served in the FARDC. His voice and message reveal an ambitious commander with big plans. ARC now fields close to 15,000 well-trained, disciplined fighters—far more organized than the DRC army itself. If Tshisekedi refuses to implement the Qatar and Washington agreements, continues arming the FDLR, and launches an offensive—as Brussels and Bujumbura urge—he may one day wake up to find Gen. Makenga on the streets of Kinshasa. Given the current reality in eastern DRC, ARC isn’t leaving Goma or Bukavu anytime soon. History may well remember M23 as the most organized rebellion of this generation.