UNSC to call for unconditional withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congo
The French-drafted UN resolution ”strongly condemns the ongoing offensive and advances of the M23 in North-Kivu and South Kivu with the support of Rwanda Defence Forces ” and demands that the M23 immediately stop its hostilities and withdraw. Image- AP The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on Friday on a resolution calling Rwanda’s military to withdraw support for the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and withdraw all troops from Congolese territory “without preconditions.” The M23 has seized the two largest cities in eastern Congo, raising fears of a wider conflict. The seizure of major cities in eastern Congo by the M23 rebel group in recent weeks and statements by key parties show that “the risk of a regional conflagration is more real today than ever before,” said Huang Xia, UN special envoy for Africa’s Great Lakes region, which includes Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. France’s UN Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere urged the council to quickly adopt a draft resolution circulated by his country two weeks ago that reaffirms support for Congo’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, urges an end to the M23 offensive and the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and calls for the urgent resumption of talks. The text also condemns support by Congolese troops ”to specific armed groups, in particular the FDLR, and calls for the cessation of such support and for the urgent implementation of commitments to neutralise the group.” The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth.
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