The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is seeing an increase in violence, and the US has denounced this brutality, accusing an armed group it claims is supported by Rwanda, a neighbor.
Dozens of troops and civilians have been killed or injured as a result of the recent uptick in fighting between government forces and the M23 rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Tens of thousands of civilians have also fled to the eastern city of Goma, which is situated between Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border, as a result of the violence.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated in a statement that “this escalation has increased the risk to millions of people already exposed to human rights abuses including displacement, deprivation, and attacks.”
Miller continued, “The United States condemns Rwanda’s support for the M23 armed group and calls on Rwanda to immediately remove its surface-to-air missile systems and withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the DRC, as they pose a threat to civilian lives, as well as those of UN and other regional peacekeepers, humanitarian actors, and commercial flights in the eastern DRC.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accused Rwanda on Saturday of using drones to attack and destroy a passenger aircraft at the Goma airport.
Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Ndjike Kaito declared in a video broadcast that “it had obviously come from the Rwandan territory, violating the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
