The United Nations Security Council has, for the first time, explicitly condemned Rwanda for supporting a rebel offensive in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), urging Kigali to withdraw its troops from the country immediately.
The M23 rebel group, which UN experts say is backed by around 4,000 Rwandan soldiers, has seized vast territories in eastern DRC, a mineral-rich region. Its rapid expansion has forced thousands of civilians to flee, raising concerns of a broader regional conflict.
In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Security Council “strongly condemned the ongoing offensive and advances of the M23 in North Kivu and South Kivu with the support of the Rwanda Defense Forces.”
It also called on Rwanda’s military to cease support to the M23 and immediately withdraw from DRC territory without preconditions.
Previously, the Security Council had only issued a vague call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire among all parties, avoiding direct mention of Rwanda. Kinshasa dismissed that earlier stance as insufficient.
France spearheaded negotiations late last month to break the diplomatic deadlock. Still, progress was delayed by the reluctance of African nations on the Security Council—Algeria, Sierra Leone, and Somalia—to directly name Rwanda. However, all three ultimately supported the resolution.
The crisis in eastern DRC has escalated tensions between the two neighbours, with Kinshasa repeatedly accusing Kigali of fueling instability by backing M23 rebels. Rwanda, in turn, denies the allegations, blaming the DRC for failing to dismantle armed groups that threaten its security.
