The United Nations Security Council has condemned a renewed offensive by the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, demanding that Rwanda cease any support for the fighters and withdraw its troops from Congolese territory, while also extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country.
In a resolution adopted unanimously on Friday, the 15-member council called on Rwanda to halt what it described as backing for M23 and urged the Congolese government to stop supporting armed groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), reiterating Kinshasa’s commitment to neutralise the militia.
The FDLR was formed by Hutus who fled Rwanda after taking part in the 1994 genocide that killed nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus, while M23 has said it is fighting to protect ethnic Tutsi communities in eastern Congo. The latest M23 advance in the mineral-rich region comes just a week after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame met US President Donald Trump in Washington, where both leaders reaffirmed their support for a US-brokered peace deal.
Rwanda has rejected accusations that it supports M23, insisting that its forces are in eastern Congo purely for defensive reasons, and blaming Congolese and Burundian troops for the recent escalation of violence. Alongside the political demands, the Security Council voted to renew for another year the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, which currently deploys nearly 11,000 troops and police as it continues efforts to stabilise one of Africa’s most volatile conflict zones.
