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The European Union on Saturday urged Rwanda to stop supporting the M23 rebel group, which has captured swathes of territory in North Kivu province in neighbouring DR Congo.
The DRC — along with the United States and several European countries — has repeatedly accused its smaller central African neighbour Rwanda of backing the M23, but the latter denies the charge.
The Tutsi rebel group has in recent months advanced to within a few dozen kilometres of provincial capital Goma.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Saturday that the European bloc urged Rwanda to “stop supporting the M23 and use all means to press the M23 to comply with the decisions taken by the EAC (East African Community)” and at a summit in November in Angola.
“It also firmly urges all states of the region to prevent the provision of any support to armed groups active in the DRC,” said Borrell.
He demanded Kinshasa “take all measures necessary to protect the civilian population in its territory.”
Under heavy international pressure to disarm, M23 joined a ceremony last week to deliver the strategic town of Kibumba to an East African military force as a “goodwill gesture” for peace.
The EAC also said the group must withdraw to the border between the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda.
However, the Congolese army promptly dubbed the Kibumba handover a “sham.”
Borrell’s comments came following publication of a report by UN experts on DR Congo which indicated it had collected proof of “direct intervention” by Rwandan defence forces inside DRC territory between at least November 2021 and last October.
The experts’ report says Rwandan troops launched operations to reinforce the M23 against the mainly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) — notably by supplying weapons, ammunition and uniforms.
Kigali sees the FDLR as a threat which justifies interventions inside the DRC.
Rwanda has also accused the DRC — where presidential elections are due next December — of using the conflict for political purposes as well as of “fabricating” a November massacre of at least 131 civilians.
A UN probe blamed the deaths on M23 rebels.
Prior to the massacre, Angola had been mediating peace talks designed to pave the way for a truce agreement.
(AFP)
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