Unexploded munitions and a broken runway are the main grounds given by the M23 armed group for their refusal to reopen Goma International Airport in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Lawrence Kanyuka, the political spokesperson for M23, issued this declaration on February 11, 2025, three days after officials from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) demanded that the airport be reopened to allow humanitarian relief.
“The technical issues, including unexploded bombs and the damaged runway, have created obstacles to reopening Goma’s international airport,” Kanyuka said.
Furthermore, officials of the SADC and EAC asked M23 to open important highways like the Goma-Lubero and Goma-Bunagana, as well as the route that connects Goma and Bukavu across Lake Kivu.
M23 responded by affirming that all of these highways and waterways are open, but urging the SADC soldiers stationed in the DRC to utilize the routes that are available and head back to their home nations.
Kanyuka went on to say that although M23 agrees with the choices reached at the summit, particularly those pertaining to political negotiations with the DRC government, M23 needs to be involved in the conversations about how these decisions would be carried out.
Additionally, he recalled that M23 had announced a truce on February 3 but that DRC and Burundi forces were planning to assault people in M23-controlled regions, including as Nyabibwe and the Kalehe center. He said that if these attacks persisted, M23 would strike back.
According to the spokesperson, SADC and Burundian forces must respect the choices taken by the EAC and SADC authorities and leave the area if they wish to bring about peace in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
