U.S. To Rwanda: Withdraw Troops from DR Congo

The United States has piled more pressure on Rwanda to withdraw forces sent to support M23 rebels in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

“The United States condemns Rwanda’s support for the M23 armed group and calls on 

Rwanda to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the DRC and remove its surface-to-air missile systems, which threaten the lives of civilians, UN and other regional peacekeepers, humanitarian actors, and commercial flights in eastern DRC,” said the U.S. State Department in a statement on Saturday night.

The development comes at a time when Congolese forces, with support from allied troops from Tanzanian, Malawi and South Africa are battling M23 rebels in the outskirts of Sake, about 27 kms from Goma.

The United Nations last week reported that on February 7, a UN observation drone was targeted by Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) fired from coordinates 0.0607S 29.2548E approximately 15 miles North west of Rutshuru which is controlled by M23 rebels. 

Rwanda has denied supporting M23 rebels and urged the UN Security Council to avert the escalation of the conflict in eastern DRC, by not reconsidering the request to provide logistical and operational support to the FARDC-led coalition, which could only feed into more escalation.

Violence 

However, in a statement, the U.S. strongly condemned the “worsening violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) caused by the actions of the Rwanda-backed, U.S.- and UN-sanctioned M23 armed group, including its recent incursions into the town of Sake,” 

“This escalation has increased the risk to millions of people already exposed to human rights abuses including displacement, deprivation, and attacks,” the statement reads in part, adding, “ We call on M23 to immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from its current positions around Sake and Goma and in accordance with the Luanda and Nairobi processes.”

The U.S. has previously urged Rwanda to pull its troops from DRC in vain. 

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi on Friday and Saturday met during a mini-summit on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Ethiopia.

Tshisekedi told AU leaders he would not hold any talks with M23 rebels whom he said were backed by Rwanda.

Angolan leader Joao Lourenco later met separately with Kagame and Tshisekedi and promised to continue his mediation in Luanda with each of the antagonists. 

The U.S. said it is essential that all states respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and hold accountable all actors for human rights abuses in the conflict in eastern DRC.  

“We call on the government of the DRC to continue to support confidence building measures, including ceasing cooperation with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group named as a “negative force” by regional bodies and the government of the DRC, and which exposes the civilian population to risk,” the statement added.

“We continue to support regional diplomatic efforts that promote de-escalation and create the conditions for lasting peace in DRC and we call on all sides to participate constructively in reaching a negotiated solution.”

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, earlier this week said it was deeply concerned by the dire consequences for civilians, including an estimated 135,000 internally displaced people fleeing the town of Sake towards the nearby provincial capital Goma.

The humanitarian agencies said they were deeply alarmed by reports of bombs falling on civilian locations, including in the Zaina site in Sake and the Lushagala site in Goma, where as many as 65,000 internally displaced people are sheltering, raising significant concerns for their safety.

“The escalating use of heavy artillery and shelling in clashes around Goma poses grave threats to civilian and displaced populations, threatening more casualties and the destruction of buildings used as communal shelters,” said UNHCR, emphasising, “The presence of unexploded ordnance poses a particular threat to children.”

Since the first week of February, at least 15 civilians have been killed and 29 injured around Goma and Sake.