UN chief calls on Rwandan forces to leave DRC as rebels take control | News of armed groups

António Guterres urges the M23 rebels to immediately cease all hostilities as thousands of civilians flee GOMA in eastern DRC.

UN President António Guterres has called on Rwandan forces to withdraw from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and stop supporting M23 fighters who are advancing on the main city of Goma in the east of the country.

His spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Sunday:

“The M23 calls for the immediate cessation of all hostile actions and withdrawal from the occupied areas. It also calls on the Rwanda Defense Forces to cease support to the M23 and to withdraw from the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

DRC and UN accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels (March 23), an accusation Kigali denies.

At an emergency UN Security Council meeting later on Sunday, the Democratic Republic of the Congo demanded sanctions against Rwanda, saying its forces had crossed its territory in what amounted to a “declaration of war.”

“More Rwandan troops have crossed the 12th and 13th border posts between Goma (in DRC) and Gisenyi (in Rwanda), entering our territory in broad daylight in an open and deliberate violation of our national sovereignty,” he said.

“This is a frontal aggression, a declaration of war that can no longer hide behind diplomatic pieces,” she said, calling on the Security Council to “impose targeted sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans not only against specific members of the chain of command of the FAR, but also against decision-makers.” “The politicians responsible for this aggression.”

France and the UK have also pressed Rwanda over its role in recent fighting around the city of Goma in eastern DRC.

The UN Ambassador to France called on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while the United Kingdom called for an end to attacks on peacekeepers by M23 rebels receiving support from Rwanda.

The meeting was held a day earlier than planned after three UN peacekeepers from Uruguay and South Africa were killed in eastern DRC.

Seven more South African soldiers and three Malawi soldiers on a separate mission from South Africa were killed this week, South African authorities and the United Nations said.

Rebels approach Goma

M23 fighters closed in on Goma on Sunday, forcing thousands of civilians to flee flights from the local airport as government forces fought to prevent rebels from seizing the city.

The M23 rebel movement made rapid advances this month into the DRC’s mineralized eastern border, on which the conflict depends, raising concerns that the fighting could mature into a regional war.

M23 Fighters began moving into Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and home to about a million people, earlier this week and have vowed to seize the city.

Residents told Reuters news agency that gunfire and artillery fire could be heard on the outskirts of the city since early Sunday, leading to panic in some areas.

By mid-afternoon, the rebels were approaching Goma airport, two government soldiers told the agency.

Airport officials said flights were no longer operating. The United Nations on Sunday told staff in Goma not to go to the airport and to stay protected.

Democratic Republic of the Congo I snapped All diplomatic relations with Rwanda amid this week’s rebel attack.

Eastern Congo remains a chest of rebel territories and combatant residence following two successive regional wars resulting from the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Three years into their current conflict, the rebels now control more Congolese territory than ever before.

M23, the latest in a long line of Tursi-led rebel movements, says it exists to protect the ethnic Tutsi population in the DRC.