The European Union (EU) yesterday pressed for military action against the genocidal FDLR militia after it ignored a January 2 disarmament deadline.

Pressure continues to pile on the UN Mission in DR Congo (Monusco) and Kinshasa to strike the militia.

"The EU stresses that the moment has come to start military action as per UNSC Resolution 2147, and as called for also by the UNSC Presidential Statement of January 8, and the International Envoys for the Great Lakes Region Communiqué of January 2,” reads a release from the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium.

The January 2 deadline passed without the militia complying with the decisions of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Instead of disarming, sources say, the militia used the six-month window of the ultimatum to recruit and consolidate its military and political organisation, especially intent on further destabilising Rwanda.

Edouard Munyamaliza, president of the Rwanda Civil Society Platform (RCSP), has expressed disappointment since key actors, including Kinshasa, SADC, ICGLR and UN keep talking about military action but "don’t walk the talk.”

Munyamaliza appreciated the EU statement but wondered why when it comes to "decisions for Africans and by Africans, concerned parties drag their feet until the likes of EU, America and others decide.”

"What are African leaders lacking?” he asked, noting that although the DR Congo problem is under the UN, leaders on the continent should not wait for statements from Europe.

‘What are African leaders doing?’

Questioning the importance of the African Union (AU) in the face of continental crises such as the Libyan crisis (2011–present), and numerous others, Munyamaliza sounded frustrated.

"Is the EU more responsible than [Congolese President Joseph] Kabila, SADC and other countries in the ICGLR? What are they lacking after they were given a go-ahead? Should we say now, that the EU has given a new go-ahead?”

The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council configuration (FAC) is responsible for the 28-member bloc’s external action, which includes foreign policy, defence and security, trade, development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

The FAC, comprising foreign ministers from all EU states, may also, depending on the agenda, bring together defence ministers, when considering common security and defence policy; or development ministers, on development cooperation.

The EU statement calls on DR Congo and Monusco to engage immediately to disarm the FDLR."At any point, FDLR combatants can still choose a peaceful path by entering into the existing Disarmament, Demobilisation, Repatriation, Reintegration and Resettlement (DDRRR) programme.”

Kigali has reiterated its call to Kinshasa and Monusco to abide by their regional and international obligations, notably UNSC Resolutions 2147 (2014) and Resolution 2098 (2013) which authorise offensive operations through the special UN Force Intervention Brigade, the first UN peacekeeping unit mandated to conduct targeted operations to neutralise armed groups in the eastern DR Congo, either unilaterally or with the Congolese army.

FDLR’s political leaders, Ignace Murwanashyaka and Straton Musoni, are facing trial in a German court, with 65 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on Congolese territory.

The militia’s current strength is estimated to be more than 3,000 and it reportedly continues to beef up collaboration with the Congolese army, and other backers.

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