The European Union (EU) has called on all states in the Great Lakes region to stop supporting M23 armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In a statement issued on December 31, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, singled out Rwanda for an unusually blunt warning, urging the country to stop supporting the M23 rebel group operating in the eastern DRC.
The EU also called on Kigali to press M23 rebels to comply with a call by regional leaders last November to cease hostilities and withdraw from territory they had recently seized. At the same time, the EU called on the DRC to “stop and prevent any cooperation” between its army and the Rwandan rebel group, the FDLR (Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda).
Borrell expressed concern that the backing and involvement of armed groups in foreign territory, as well as violations of UN arms embargoes and sanctions, are breaking international law and the commitments made by various countries in the region.
They also noted that the M23 group is gaining more advanced weapons and capabilities to attack the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s military.