General Dominique Kamanzi Ndarurutse and Jean-Claude Habyarimana are leaders of a collective of armed groups called the “Wazalendo”.
They are fighting alongside the Congolese army (FARDC) against M23 militants in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
In July, the European Union imposed sanctions against the group, accusing it of serious human rights violations. Accusations it denies.
For the first time, these two men agreed to speak to Africanews and be filmed in their area of operation.
“We’re not worried about these sanctions against us, because they’re fabricated. They know that we’re an obstacle to their plans to balkanize our country. They want to plunder our minerals and wealth, but we won’t give in,” said Kamanzi, of the Coalition of Movements for Change (CMC).
As the M23 rebels continue to gain ground in North Kivu province, the UN Security Council on Tuesday authorised its mission, MONUSCO, to provide logistical support to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission in the DRC.
The Wazalendo say they are cautiously optimistic.
“We have fond memories of SADC. In 2013, they helped us against the same aggression. Before that they helped Laurent Kabila against the RCD,” said Habyarimana, spokesperson for the Wazalendo.
But he said they are concerned about a lack of “enthusiasm” now and they do not know what the problem is.
“The wish of all Congolese is that, as reliable partners, they activate all possible mechanisms to ensure that their presence on Congolese soil is not in vain, as we saw with the East African Community (EAC) force,” he said.
Some residents in the town of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, echo these doubts.
They said they believe it will be the armed groups, together with the Congolese army, that will bring peace to the east of the country.
“They’ve been here for over a year, but they’ve never launched any offensives, and we’re still disappointed to see that MONUSCO, which is present here and should be providing logistical support to SADC, has not been effective,” said one resident, Christophe Muisa.
“Today, we believe that only the armed forces of the DRC and the Wazalendo are ready to sacrifice themselves so that we can have peace and security.”
On Thursday, a Congolese military court sentenced 26 people, 21 of whom are still at large, to death for their involvement in the M23 rebellion.
They were charged with war crimes, participation in an insurrectionary movement, and treason.
All the defendants were found guilty, with no extenuating circumstances.