Eastern DR Congo crisis: AU chief urges regional leaders to ‘prioritize dialogue’

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) Amb Moussa Faki Mahamat has said that he is very concerned about the continuous tension in eastern DR Congo and reiterated his call for rapid de-escalation. Since early February, the M23 rebels have advanced towards Goma, the capital of DR Congo’s North Kivu Province, raising fears that they might take control of the city of an estimated two million people. Kigali has also urged the United Nations Security Council not to amplify allegations recurrently made by the Congolese government that Rwanda supports the M23 rebels. The Congolese government continues to accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels – allegations Kigali dismisses. Rwanda has stressed that the conflict in eastern DR Congo is a result of internal problems including bad governance, ethnic discrimination, and violence, in DR Congo. ALSO READ: Rwanda ensures defence measures amid ‘serious threat’ from DR Congo In a February 21 statement, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission called upon regional leaders, particularly those of DR Congo and Rwanda, to prioritize dialogue in the framework of the two African mechanisms led by President João Lourenço of Angola and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, with the goal of agreeing, in a collaborative and fraternal spirit, on a reasonable pathway to settle political differences, whatever their nature. ALSO READ: DR Congo’s Rwandophone question: What US govt, SA, Tanzanian leaders have said The statement read: “The integrity, security, sovereignty, and stability of all states in the region must necessarily be assured, and the lives of the civilian population completely protected. The Chairperson of the Commission repeats forcefully that there will not be any military solution to problems and disagreements within the African family.” The government of Rwanda has also noted that it was concerned about the eastern DR Congo conflict having spillover effects in the Great Lakes Region, at a time when the Congolese government had abandoned regional peace processes. Foreign powers’ interference in Africa’s internal affairs The Chairperson of the African Union Commission also called upon “all foreign powers to completely abstain from all interference in the internal affairs of all African countries,” notably those of the Great Lakes Region. On February 20, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo particularly responded to accusations by France that Rwanda supports M23 rebels. In a post on X, Makolo said the French government was in position to know that a solution to the conflict in eastern DR Congo would be found if the root causes were addressed. Among others, Rwanda accuses the Congolese armed forces, or FARDC, of integrating the FDLR, a militia directly linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The US-sanctioned terrorist group has spread hate and violence against Congolese Tutsi communities for over two decades. ALSO READ: Belgian lawyer on why genocide ideology doesn’t dissolve three decades after dispersion of genocidaires Kigali has often noted that blame games will not fix DR Congo problems. The M23 rebels on February 13 accused a Congolese government coalition of “slaughtering the civilian population” in North Kivu Province and said it was “obliged” to stop it. Heavy fighting has been going on for a over week in Sake, a strategic town located about 25 kilometres north-east of Goma town and the Rwandan border. ALSO READ: Inside the secret DR Congo-FDLR pact The Rwandan government has expressed its concern over DR Congo’s military build-up in North Kivu Province near the two countries’ border, and reiterated that it reserved the right to defend itself in case of security threats. If Kinshasa continues to support the genocidal FDLR and other anti-Rwanda elements, Rwanda’s defensive and preventive mechanisms will remain in place to guard against the violation of our space and counter any spill-over into Rwanda to ensure total security for our territory,” a Rwandan envoy told the UN Security Council on February 20. “Territorial sovereignty for [DR Congo] is also territorial sovereignty for Rwanda. So, both matter; there cannot be one or the other. Rwanda will not allow the FDLR and their backers, directly or indirectly, to cause any harm to our people.”

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Eastern DR Congo crisis: AU chief urges regional leaders to ‘prioritize dialogue’