War in Africa: US seeks UN action to end Rwanda, M23 rebels in eastern Congo

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As the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo intensifies, the United States on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to take action to halt an advance by Rwandan troops and M23 rebel fighters.

When Dorothy Shea, the acting U.S. ambassador to the U.N., made this call, she did not tell the 15-member council what could be done.

“We call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to this fighting. Rwanda must withdraw troops from the DRC. Rwanda and the DRC must return to the negotiating table and work toward a sustainable, peaceful solution,” Shea told the Security Council.

In the biggest escalation of a protracted struggle in almost a decade, the M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, marched into Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, on Monday.

Rwanda said that fighting along the border jeopardized national security, but it did not specifically address whether its troops were in Congo. Congo accused Rwanda of deploying its troops over the border.

Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner called for a weapons embargo, a restriction on the acquisition of Rwandan natural resources, targeted sanctions against Rwandan military and political officials, and the exclusion of Rwandan forces from U.N. peacekeeping operations during his address to the U.N. Security Council.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed the increasing war that has killed multiple U.N. soldiers with the presidents of Rwanda and Congo earlier Tuesday, according to U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

The spokeswoman claims that the necessity to safeguard people in that region was given particular attention during the UN chief’s discussion with the president of Rwanda.

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