In his testimony, Mr. Steve Hege, Former Coordinator of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) told Congress that: “We found that since the very outset of the M23 rebellion, the Government of Rwanda has provided direct military support to M23, facilitated recruitment, encouraged desertions from the Congolese army, and delivered arms, ammunition, intelligence and political advice to the rebels.”
“…The Rwandan army has not only set-up an elaborate recruitment network within Rwanda to ensure a steady supply of new troops to M23, including children and even recycled former Hutu rebels of the FDLR, but they have also integrated their own officers and trainers within the M23 chain of command on the ground in North Kivu. Furthermore, they have deployed Rwandan army units on a permanent basis alongside M23 positions making the two forces nearly indistinguishable. During major offensive and military operations, the Rwandan army has deployed thousands of additional troops to reinforce M23 in their major attacks, such as the recent offensive on Goma.”