Kagame, US top diplomat discuss eastern DR Congo conflict
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday he held a phone conversation with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on the security crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where government forces are battling M23 rebels.
The talks came days after fighting resumed last Thursday in eastern DRC between government troops and M23 fighters, breaking a ceasefire agreed on by African leaders at a mini-summit in the Angolan capital Luanda on Nov. 23.
A statement issued by the US State Department said the discussion stressed the importance of peace and stability in eastern DRC.
Blinken expressed “strong support for regional mediation and dialogue led by Angola and the East African Community,” the statement said.
“He underscored the need for concrete progress on and implementation of commitments made during these discussions, including the November 23 Luanda Mini-Summit on Peace and Security.”
DRC accuses Rwanda of backing M23 rebels, a charge Rwanda has persistently denied.
Rwanda has in turn accused DRC military of allying with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia, whose elements are blamed for the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.
However, Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta said while Kagame and Bliken had good discussions the differences in understanding of the issue remain.
“The wrong and misguided approach of the international community continues to exacerbate the problem," said Biruta in a tweet.
“M23 should not be equated to Rwanda. It is not Rwanda’s problem to solve. The security concerns of Rwanda need to be addressed, and where others may not feel obliged to, Rwanda is and will continue to do so.”
The phone conversation came on the back of escalated tension between DRC and Rwanda.
Rwandan President in a speech in Parliament on November 30 suggested his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi wants to use the security situation in the east as an excuse to delay elections scheduled next year.
But Tshisekedi speaking at a youth gathering in DRC on Sunday described the Rwandan government and Kagame as enemy of his country.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Monday warned that the humanitarian crisis in the DRC is worsening catastrophically.
Congolese children are facing growing danger in the east of the country, as armed conflicts, cholera and measles outbreaks spread, Marie-Pierre Poirier, the UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa said in a statement.
It warned the situation could quickly spiral out of control, especially in overcrowded sites hosting nearly 200,000 internally displaced people in deplorable sanitary conditions.
The fighting has displaced at least 1.5 million people in 2022 in the east, more than half of them children, according to UNICEF.
