LONDON: UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said DR Congo’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected” in a statement Sunday, after the M23 armed group advanced on several fronts in the DRC’s volatile east.
“There must be a ceasefire now ... And the DRC’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected,” Lammy said in a video on X, calling for a “peace process lead by African countries.”
The M23 movement, supported by some 4,000 Rwandan soldiers, according to UN experts, now controls large swaths of eastern Congo, a troubled region rich in natural resources.
“We’re calling on all sides to allow assistance to get to those who need it most,” said Lammy, adding that he had spoken to Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi.
“The UK will support those committed to ending this conflict. And we will take action against those who continue to fuel it,” he added.
London summoned Rwanda’s envoy to the UK on Tuesday to condemn the M23 advances, calling for Rwanda to “immediately withdraw” all Rwanda Defense Forces from Congolese territory.
Fighters took control of the South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu last Sunday, weeks after capturing Goma, the capital of North Kivu and main city in the country’s east.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Friday which “strongly condemns” the M23 offensive “with the support of the Rwanda Defense Forces.”
According to the UN, the latest fighting has led to an exodus of more than 50,000 Congolese to Burundi, Uganda and other countries.
Lammy announced the UK had “allocated more aid to help those suffering” in the DRC, without providing further details.
Tshisekedi said on Saturday he is going to launch a unity government, telling a meeting of the Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition not to be distracted by internal quarrels.
“I lost the battle and not the war. I must reach out to everyone including the opposition. There will be a government of national unity,” said Tshisekedi. He didn’t give more details on what that would entail or when it would happen.
Rwanda has accused Congo of enlisting ethnic Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
M23 says it’s fighting to protect Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed state to a modern one. Analysts have called those pretexts for Rwanda’s involvement.
On Saturday, Tshisekedi paid tribute to soldiers who were killed and vowed to prop up the army.
