By CHIMPREPORTS
The United States has increased pressure on Rwanda to withdraw forces supporting M23 rebels in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The United States condemns Rwanda’s support for the M23 armed group and calls on Rwanda to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the DRC and remove its surface-to-air missile systems, which threaten the lives of civilians, UN and other regional peacekeepers, humanitarian actors, and commercial flights in eastern DRC,” stated the U.S. State Department on Saturday night.
This development coincides with Congolese forces, backed by allied troops from Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa, engaging M23 rebels on the outskirts of Sake, approximately 27 kilometers from Goma.
Last week, the United Nations reported that on February 7, a UN observation drone was targeted by Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAM) fired from coordinates 0.0607S 29.2548E, around 15 miles northwest of Rutshuru, a region controlled by M23 rebels.
Rwanda has denied supporting M23 rebels, urging the UN Security Council to prevent the escalation of the conflict in eastern DRC. Rwanda implores the council not to reconsider the request for logistical and operational support to the FARDC-led coalition, as it could only contribute to further escalation.
Violence
However, in a statement, the U.S. strongly condemned the “worsening violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) caused by the actions of the Rwanda-backed, U.S.- and UN-sanctioned M23 armed group, including its recent incursions into the town of Sake.”
“This escalation has increased the risk to millions of people already exposed to human rights abuses, including displacement, deprivation, and attacks,” the statement reads in part, adding, “We call on M23 to immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from its current positions around Sake and Goma in accordance with the Luanda and Nairobi processes.”
The U.S. has previously urged Rwanda to pull its troops from the DRC in vain.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, met during a mini-summit on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Ethiopia on Friday and Saturday.
Tshisekedi told AU leaders he would not hold any talks with M23 rebels, whom he said were backed by Rwanda.
Angolan leader Joao Lourenco later met separately with Kagame and Tshisekedi and promised to continue his mediation in Luanda with each of the antagonists.
The U.S. emphasized the importance of all states respecting each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and holding all actors accountable for human rights abuses in the conflict in eastern DRC.
“We call on the government of the DRC to continue supporting confidence-building measures, including ceasing cooperation with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group named as a ‘negative force’ by regional bodies and the government of the DRC, exposing the civilian population to risk,” the statement added.
“We continue to support regional diplomatic efforts that promote de-escalation and create the conditions for lasting peace in the DRC, and we call on all sides to participate constructively in reaching a negotiated solution.”
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, earlier this week expressed deep concern about the dire consequences for civilians, including an estimated 135,000 internally displaced people fleeing the town of Sake towards the nearby provincial capital Goma.
Humanitarian agencies said they were deeply alarmed by reports of bombs falling on civilian locations, including in the Zaina site in Sake and the Lushagala site in Goma, where as many as 65,000 internally displaced people are sheltering, raising significant concerns for their safety.
“The escalating use of heavy artillery and shelling in clashes around Goma poses grave threats to civilian and displaced populations, threatening more casualties and the destruction of buildings used as communal shelters,” said UNHCR, emphasizing, “The presence of unexploded ordnance poses a particular threat to children.”
Since the first week of February, at least 15 civilians have been killed and 29 injured around Goma and Sake.
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