By Enyichukwu Enemanna
There seems to be a ray of hope as a top US top diplomat has assured that his country is backing steps led by Kenya and Angola to ensure an end to violence in Congo’s east and to help solve its crisis with the neighbouring Rwanda.
The Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Congo’s capital Kinshasa on Tuesday in continuation of his three-nation African tour.
Upon arrival, Blinken met with Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and other government officials, including Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula who joined him at a press conference after meetings.
“We want this violence in eastern Congo to end,” Blinken said. “We call on the M23 and all other armed groups to cease their actions, lay down their arms and come within the framework of the negotiation process.”
Blinken is in Congo for two days and was expected to encourage solutions to the violence in eastern Congo where attacks have increased dramatically in the past month, with the resurgence of the M23 rebel group and ongoing violence by the many militia groups vying for control of the mineral-rich region.
More than 40 people were killed over the weekend in the Ituri province by two other rebel groups.
“We are very concerned by credible reports that Rwanda has provided support to M23. We call on all parties in the region to stop any support or cooperation with M23 or, for that matter, any other non-state armed group.” He said during a joint news conference with Lutundula.
Congo has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels.
Rwanda has since denied report by United Nations experts saying they have “solid evidence” that members of Rwanda’s armed forces are conducting operations in eastern Congo in support of the M23 rebel group.
Rwanda is also accusing Congo of collaborating with another rebel group, the FDLR, and said regional security can’t be achieved until that issue is addressed. The FDLR was created by ethnic Hutus who fled Rwanda during the country’s 1994 genocide in which at least 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. Congo has denied supporting the group.
The violence in eastern Congo has killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands, worsening the already existed humanitarian crisis in the country.
Blinken will travel later Wednesday to Rwanda to meet with President Paul Kagame and his foreign minister.
“The United States is doing everything it can to support the very important African-led mediation efforts, in particular the processes that are being led by Kenya and Angola, to bring peace, security and stability to the eastern Congo. We are not only following this very closely and carefully, we’re engaged in it,” he said.
Relations between Congo and its smaller neighbor Rwanda have been fraught for decades. Rwanda alleges that Congo gave refuge to Hutus who carried out the genocide. In the late 1990s, Rwanda twice sent its forces deep into Congo, joining forces with Congolese rebel leader Laurent Kabila to depose the country’s longtime dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
