(Washington) The United States on Saturday condemned the escalation of violence in eastern Republic of Congo blamed on M23 rebels, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
About ten days ago, fighting between the M23 (“March 23 Movement”), supported by units of the Rwandan army, and Congolese government forces intensified at Sake, a locality located around twenty kilometers west of Goma.
“The United States strongly condemns the escalation of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) caused by the actions of the armed group M23, supported by Rwanda and sanctioned by the United States and the UN , including its incursions into the town of Sake,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“This escalation threatens the lives of millions of people […] We call on the M23 to immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from its current positions around Sake and Goma,” the statement added.
In the same document, Washington “condemns” Rwanda’s support for the M23, calls for the withdrawal of the Rwandan army from the DRC and asks Kigali to “withdraw its surface-to-air missile systems, which threaten the lives of civilians, soldiers of the UN force, other regional peacekeeping forces and humanitarians.
According to various sources, there have already been dozens of civilian and military deaths and injuries since the intensification of fighting in recent days.
A predominantly Tutsi rebellion, the M23 emerged in 2012 and, towards the end of that year, briefly occupied Goma, before being militarily defeated the following year.
He reappeared in November 2021, criticizing the government for not having respected agreements on the reintegration of its fighters. Since then, it has seized large territories in the North Kivu province.
For its part, the DRC accuses Rwanda and its “auxiliaries” of the M23 of wanting to take control of the minerals of eastern Congolese. The M23, for its part, claims to defend a threatened segment of the population and demands negotiations, which Kinshasa refuses, excluding discussions with “terrorists”.