The UN Security Council adopted, on Wednesday after a meeting, a statement in which it strongly condemns the increase in the number of attacks committed in recent months by the M23 rebellion in the North province -Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the UN news site.
Also condemning the advances made by this rebellion on the ground, Council demands the full and immediate implementation of the commitments made in favor of the cessation of hostilities, the end of any new advances by the M23 and its withdrawal from all occupied sectors, as agreed in the Luanda process which was endorsed by the African Union, according to the same source.
Council members also urge all parties outside the DRC to immediately stop supporting the M23, which is under Council sanctions, and to withdraw from the country; allusion made probably to Rwanda, among others.
Furthermore, the Security Council expresses its concern about the tensions that reign between the DRC and Rwanda and appeals in this regard for calm and increased dialogue between the two countries.
The Council also attacked other rebel groups (ADF, CODECO, etc.), which are increasing attacks against civilians in Ituri and North Kivu. He demanded of all armed groups that their members “demobilize immediately and definitively, lay down their arms, renounce violence, prevent and put an end to violations committed against women and children and release children enlisted in their ranks”.
Prior to the adoption of the statement by the Security Council, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the DRC, Bintou Keita, painted a bleak picture of the situation in the eastern part of the DRC.
The head of the UN Mission in the DRC (Monusco) declared, before the fifteen members of the Council, that the security situation in this area has “considerably deteriorated” in recent months and that the humanitarian situation there is “of more and more dramatic.
“The escalation of the conflict with the M23 and the persistent activism of other armed groups, notably the ADF, Zaire and CODECO, to name but a few, continue to inflict intolerable suffering on the civilian population”, a- she lamented, recalling that Monusco continues to fulfill its mandate which includes the protection of civilians.
By OMA Newsletter No. 1110 of 03/30/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
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The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
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