The heads of state of several East African countries called on Friday for a “withdrawal of all armed groups” by March 30 in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the grip of to violence.
This meeting of Heads of State of the East African Community (EAC), made up of seven countries, was held in particular in the presence of the presidents of the DRC Félix Tshisekedi and of Rwanda Paul Kagame, in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, on the eve of an African Union summit.
The leaders called on Twitter for a “withdrawal of all armed groups” as well as the return of those displaced by the conflict.
On February 4, at a previous meeting of heads of state, the EAC had called for an “immediate ceasefire by all parties” and a withdrawal of all armed groups, “including foreigners “. But the fighting continued.
In addition to the presidents of the DRC and Rwanda, the Kenyan heads of state William Ruto, the Tanzanian Samia Suluhu Hassan and the Burundian Evariste Ndayishimiye were present at this mini-summit. João Lourenço, Head of State of Angola – who is not in the EAC – also participated.
Numerous armed groups have plagued eastern DRC for decades, many of which are a legacy of regional wars that erupted in the 1990s-2000s.
In the Congolese province of North Kivu, the M23 (“March 23 Movement”) has seized large mineral-rich territories since November 2021, and continues to advance despite a roadmap for peace concluded in Luanda, in Angola, in July 2022.
This mainly Tutsi rebellion took up arms again at the end of 2021, after nearly ten years of exile in neighboring Rwanda and Uganda, with among their main demands the elimination of the FDLR, a group founded in Congo by former leaders of the Tutsi genocide. in 1994 in Rwanda.
The DRC accuses its neighbor Rwanda of supporting these rebels, which is corroborated by experts from the UN, the United States and other Western countries, although Kigali denies it.
During this summit, “we agreed that the M23 had not respected its commitments”, said Friday to AFP Patrick Muyaya Katembwe, spokesperson for the Congolese government, before continuing: “Even Paul Kagame recognized it “.
There is also great concern in the province of Ituri, the scene of frequent attacks against civilian populations carried out by community militias or by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), affiliated with the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
A village attack attributed to the ADF left five people dead there on Wednesday.
On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that some $605 million will be needed this year to help one million refugees from the DRC and the African countries hosting them.
In November, there were some 5.5 million displaced people in the country, to which must be added more than a million people who crossed the borders to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
These host countries are Uganda (with more than 500,000 Congolese refugees), followed by Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Congo-Brazzaville and Angola.
Despite many refugees outside the country, the DRC began on Thursday the registration of voters for the presidential election in December.
02/17/2023 17:45:30 – Addis Ababa (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
