The African Union peace ad Security Council has “unequivocally condemned foreign military support to M23 and any other armed group operating in eastern DRC.
Following the 1256th Emergency Ministerial meeting on Tuesday, January 28, on the developments in the Eastern DRC, the AUPSC demanded the immediate cessation of such support and the immediate withdrawal of any such external party from the entire Congolese territory.
Additionally, AUPSC condemned support provided by military forces to specific armed groups, in particular the FDLR, and demanded the immediate cessation of such support.
“Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council … expresses grave concern over the offensive launched by the M23 and its supporters in the past weeks, capturing Minova, Sake, and the regional capital, Goma, which resulted in death and casualties amongst civilians and peacekeepers, as well as worsening an already fragile security and humanitarian situation in eastern DRC,” the communique read in part.
UN experts and the US have maintained the Rwandan army is in “de facto control of M23 operations”, detailing how M23 recruits are trained under Rwandan supervision and supported by high-tech Rwandan weaponry.
“There was no question that there are Rwandan troops in Goma supporting the M23,” UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, has been quoted as saying, though he noted “it was it was difficult to tell the exact numbers on the ground in Goma”.
The Council further demanded that M23, ADF and FDLR, other armed and terrorist groups operating in eastern DRC to immediately and unconditionally cease their attacks and permanently disband and lay down their arms.
“[The council] calls for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of M23 from Minova, Sake, and Goma, and other occupied areas in the DRC, and all other foreign armed and terrorist groups operating in the DRC, in line with the Communiqué of the Mini-Summit of Luanda of 23 November 2022, while emphasizing the need for respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” it said.
The attacks on Diplomatic and Consular Missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo was also condemned as a blatant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, and Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963.
In this regard, the Council called upon DRC authorities to protect all Diplomatic and Consular Missions, and to undertake investigations the view to holding those responsible to account.
Protesters demonstrating against the events in eastern Congo on Tuesday attacked a U.N. compound and diplomatic embassies, including those of Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, France and the United States, expressing anger at what they said was foreign interference.
The council proposed to the AU Commission to immediately deploy a fact-finding mission on the ongoing crisis within the context of the quadripartite framework and report back to it at the earliest opportunity.
