A meeting of military leaders from four African regions on Friday, October 6, supported a political resolution of the conflict between DR Congo’s armed forces (FARDC) and the M23 rebel group in the country’s east.
The meeting took place less than a week after hostilities resumed in parts of North Kivu province, threatening regional efforts to end the conflict peacefully.
The military leaders, who met at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, discussed a coordination framework to harmonise peace initiatives for DR Congo as well as planned and existing military interventions in the country’s troubled east to establish a clear division of labour in the country’s troubled east.
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Although the Congolese government has ruled out the possibility of peace talks with the rebels, the meeting "[emphasized] the need for continuation of the political track through dialogue, in line with regional efforts under the auspices of the EAC and ICGLR, as contained in the Nairobi and Luanda Processes,” the AU Peace and Security Council said in a statement on Friday.
The meeting attended by AU and United Nations representatives expressed "deep concern over the prevailing insecurity and deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country due to violence and human rights abuses committed by the M23 and other armed groups, including the FDLR and ADF,” the statement reads.
The army chiefs meeting also demanded "immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all armed groups and negative forces” and called for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the affected populations.
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In November 2022, the East African Community (EAC) deployed a regional force to DR Congo to observe a ceasefire between the Congolese armed forces and M23 rebels.
The ceasefire has been fragile, with both parties accusing each other of breaking it.
The conflict which began in November 2021 has also led to tensions between DR Congo and Rwanda, as the former accused its neighbour of supporting the rebels.
Rwanda dismisses the allegations and instead accuses the Congolese army of collaborating with the UN-sanctioned terrorist militia FDLR, which threatens Rwandan security.
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The FDLR, an outfit founded by remnants of the former Rwandan army and Interahamwe militia responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, is accused of perpetuating violence in eastern DR Congo and spreading genocide ideology against Congolese Tutsi communities.
The M23 accuses the Congolese army of integrating the FDLR along with a host of militias like Mai Mai Nyatura and CODECO, which are implicated in killings of civilians and human rights abuse.