"The Government of DRCongo calls on all nations loving peace and justice and the international community as a whole to take severe political, economic and judicial measures against Rwanda and its leaders", said the Congolese authorities in a statement released by local social media.
Kinshasa issued the statement days after the release of the UN expert group's latest report on DRCongo, which believes that a similar number of M23 insurgents - around 3,000 fighters - are fighting the DRCongo army in Congo's Kivu province. North such as Rwandan soldiers, who are estimated to number between 3,000 and 4,000.
"The (Rwandan) troops are also attacking peacekeeping forces and the infrastructure of the UN mission in DRCongo (Monusco), acts that constitute war crimes," he added.
Furthermore, the Congolese Government highlighted that the plunder of DRCongo's mineral and forestry resources, exacerbated by instability, which the UN report also highlighted, is mainly benefiting neighboring Rwanda.
The researchers also highlighted the collaboration of the Congolese army with foreign mercenaries and several rebel groups to combat the M23, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), founded in 2000 by the leaders of the 1994 genocide and other Rwandans (Hutu ) exiled in DRCongo to regain political power in their country.
These rebels, like the M23, recruited children to fight and used their influence to loot, extort, kidnap and murder civilians.
In response, DRCongo authorities said they would "take note" of what they described as "circumstantial links at non-political and non-strategic levels between certain public officials and non-state groups under sanctions".
More than 1.6 million people were forced to flee their homes due to fighting by the M23, which reactivated its fighting in October 2021, after years of relative calm.
In addition to the humanitarian crisis, the insurgents have triggered serious tensions between DRCongo and Rwanda.
No comments:
Post a Comment