UN Reiterates Stand on Immediate Ceasefire in DRC as M23 Advances Beyond Two Eastern Cities

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The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles away.

United Nations special envoy to Congo, Bintou Keita, called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to hostilities “without conditions” by Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo. Rwanda-backed rebels have captured two key cities in Congo’s mineral-rich east in less than a month after a major escalation in their yearslong fighting against overstretched and weakened Congolese forces.

With the support of thousands of troops from neighbouring Rwanda, the M23 rebels first took Goma last month before marching to Bukavu this weekend in an unprecedented advance since they took up arms more than a decade ago, further raising fears of a regional war.

The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles away.

M23 is one of about 100 armed factions vying for control in eastern Congo. But unlike the others, they are mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who failed to integrate into the Congolese army.

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Rwanda’s longtime President Paul Kagame accuses Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi of overlooking the concerns of Congo’s ethnic Tutsis and ignoring previous peace agreements. Keita, who also heads the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, said that following the fall of Goma, 1,400 high-risk individuals have sought protection from MONUSCO and that the situation has become unsustainable.