Mr. Guterres “condemns all violence against civilians and renews his call on all Congolese and foreign armed groups to lay down their arms and disarm unconditionally”, he added.
The DRC has for years accused Rwanda of supporting this rebellion of the M23 – for “March 23 Movement”, predominantly Tutsi – defeated in 2013 but which has taken up arms again since 2022 to seize vast territories of the North- Kivu, a province rich in minerals. UN experts corroborated this Rwandan support last summer and Western states such as the United States denounced it.
DRC: Human Rights Watch denounces the atrocities of the M23 and the army’s response
Even if Kigali defends itself vigorously.
In September, at the UN General Assembly, Mr. Tshisekedi accused his Rwandan neighbor, led by Paul Kagame, of “direct” military “aggression” and “occupation” in eastern DRC, through his alleged support for M23.
Since then, under the aegis of the African Union and Angolan President Joao Lourenço, a de-escalation plan has been discussed and an appeal launched in Addis Ababa on February 17 by East Africa for a “withdrawal of all armed groups” in eastern DRC, before March 30.
