US, Kenya seek truce in M23-DRC conflict; UNSC tells Rwanda forces to leave
AFRICA: Unanimously adopted UN Security Council resolution “strongly condemns the ongoing offensive and advances of M23 rebels in North-Kivu and South Kivu with the support of the Rwanda Defense Forces.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Kenyan President William Ruto have urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a phone call, the State Department said.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto to discuss the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the unacceptable capture of Goma and Bukavu by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group,” the State Department said on Friday.
“Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to push for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.”
The United States said a day earlier that it was imposing sanctions on a Rwandan government minister and a senior member of an armed group for their alleged roles in the conflict.
In a diplomatic note seen by Reuters news agency earlier this month, the US said that stability in the region will require the Rwandan military “to withdraw its forces and advanced weaponry” from DRC.
Also on Friday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned Rwanda for the first time over its backing for M23 rebel offensive against neighbouring DRC, calling on Kigali to immediately withdraw its troops.
The resolution, which “strongly condemns the ongoing offensive and advances of the M23 (rebels) in North-Kivu and South Kivu with the support of the Rwanda Defense Forces,” was adopted unanimously.
It also “calls on the Rwanda Defense Forces to cease support to the M23 and immediately withdraw from DRC territory without preconditions.”
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‘Almost no Congolese soldiers are fighting’
It came after M23 fighters advanced on several fronts on Friday.
The M23 movement, supported by some 4,000 Rwandan soldiers, according to UN experts, now controls large swaths of eastern DRC, a troubled region rich in natural resources.
Its rapid advance has sent thousands fleeing. Fighters took control of the South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu last Sunday, weeks after capturing Goma, the capital of North Kivu and main city in the country’s east.
The Security Council had previously called for an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” by all parties, but on Friday all countries including the three African members pointed the finger at Kigali.
Recent gains have given M23 control of Lake Kivu following its lightning offensive in the east. According to the UN, the latest fighting has led to an exodus of more than 50,000 Congolese to Burundi, Uganda and other countries.
The European Union on Friday summoned Rwanda’s ambassador to demand Kigali pull out troops from the country and stop backing the armed group.
Since the fall of Bukavu, DRC armed forces have been retreating without offering significant resistance.
“Almost no Congolese soldiers are fighting,” an observer said on Friday, adding that the “only ones still fighting are the Wazalendo” pro-Kinshasa militia.
