UN Envoy: Resurgence Of M23 Group Threatening DRC’s Human Rights Situation

The United Nations (UN) envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday warned the resurgence of the M23 armed group has broad repercussions for the security, human rights and humanitarian situation in the country’s volatile east, reported The UN News.

“If the (rebel movement) M23 continues its well-coordinated attacks against the FARDC (Congolese armed forces) and MONUSCO with increasing conventional capabilities, the Mission could find itself facing a threat that exceeds its current capabilities,” Bintou Keita, the UN envoy, warned at a Security Council meeting.

Keita told the Security Council that the M23 has come out as a conventional army rather than an armed group during the most recent hostilities. She said the M23 possesses sophisticated firepower and equipment such as long-range fire capacities, mortars and machine guns as well as precision fire against aircraft.

The UN envoy also cited threats from other armed groups such as Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants in North Kivu and the Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO).

Keita said other armed groups sought to take advantage of the resulting security vacuum, increasing attacks in North Kivu and Ituri provinces that killed over150 civilians between May 28 and June 17.

She urged the UN Security Council to fully back regional efforts to defuse tensions between DRC and Rwanda over M23 rebels and other armed groups that have raised fears of war between the neighbouring countries. She also urged DRC and Rwanda to seize the opportunity to resolve their differences at an upcoming summit hosted by Angola’s President Joao Lourenco in the capital, Luanda.

The UN envoy said initial deployments of the new regional force, approved by the East African leaders on June 20, were expected before the end of July in eastern DRC, with the bulk of the troops on the ground scheduled for August.