A meeting of military leaders from four African regions on Friday, Oct. 6, supported a political resolution of the conflict between Democratic Republic of the Congo鈥檚 (DR Congo) armed forces (FARDC) and the M23 rebel group in the country鈥檚 east, The New Times, Rwanda鈥檚 largest daily newspaper, reported on Saturday, Oct. 7.
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 harmonize peace initiatives for the DR Congo as well as planned and existing military interventions in the country鈥檚 troubled east to establish a clear division of labor in the country鈥檚 troubled east.
Although the Congolese government has ruled out the possibility of peace talks with the rebels, the meeting emphasized 鈥渢he 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,鈥 the AU Peace and Security Council said in a statement on Friday.
The meeting attended by AU and United Nations representatives expressed 鈥渄eep 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,鈥 according to the statement.
The army chiefs meeting also demanded 鈥渋mmediate and unconditional withdrawal of all armed groups and negative forces,鈥 and called for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the affected populations.
Although the Congolese government has ruled out the possibility of peace talks with the rebels, the meeting 鈥渆mphasized: 鈥渢he 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,鈥 the AU Peace and Security Council said in a statement on Friday.
The meeting attended by AU and United Nations representatives expressed 鈥渄eep 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,鈥 the statement said.
The army chiefs meeting also demanded 鈥渋mmediate and unconditional withdrawal of all armed groups and negative forces鈥 and called for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the affected populations.
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 that began in November 2021 has also led to tensions between DR Congo and Rwanda, as the former accused its neighbor of supporting the rebels.