WASHINGTON, United States: The United States on Saturday deplored rising violence by M23 rebels in DR Congo and said the group’s backers in Rwanda must remove sophisticated surface-to-air missiles that threaten lives in the country’s east.
Fighting has flared up in recent days between M23 rebels and Congolese government forces around the town of Sake, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Goma.
“The United States strongly condemns the worsening violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) caused by the actions of the Rwanda-backed, US- and UN-sanctioned M23 armed group, including its recent incursions into the town of Sake,” Matthew Miller, State Department spokesman, said in a statement.
“This escalation has increased the risk to millions of people… We call on M23 to immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from its current positions around Sake and Goma.”
Washington “condemns” Rwandan support for M23 and calls on Kigali “to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the DRC and remove its surface-to-air missile systems, which threaten the lives of civilians, UN and other regional peacekeepers, humanitarian actors, and commercial flights in eastern DRC,” Miller added.
According to media reports, dozens of soldiers and civilians have been killed or injured in the fighting over the past over one week.
The latest clashes have driven tens of thousands of civilians to flee to Goma, which lies between Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border and is virtually cut off from the country’s interior.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations and Western countries say Rwanda is supporting the rebels in their bid to control vast mineral resources, which Kigali denies.
UN forces have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo for nearly 25 years, but have been accused of failing to protect civilians from armed groups.
