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DR Congo denounces UN ‘inaction’ over M23 capture of Bukavu

By : AFP

Date: 18 Feb 2025

DRCONGO-UNREST-DISPLACED

Chuduku, traditional two-wheeled handmade vehicles are pushed loaded with items belonging to internally displaced persons, as they leave the camps in Bulengo on February 12, 2025. Fighting erupted Tuesday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, three days after a call by African leaders for a ceasefire and a brief lull in the conflict. Rwanda-backed M23 fighters attacked Congolese army positions in South Kivu province at dawn, local and security sources told AFP. The resurgence comes after east and southern African leaders called on their general staff to propose a plan for implementing an "unconditional" ceasefire by Thursday, in a conflict which has killed thousands and driven vast numbers from their homes. The M23 has in recent months swiftly seized tracts of territory in mineral-rich east DRC after again taking up arms in late 2021, in a country plagued by numerous conflicts for decades. (Photo by Jospin mwisha / AFP)

Chuduku, traditional two-wheeled handmade vehicles are pushed loaded with items belonging to internally displaced persons, as they leave the camps in Bulengo on February 12, 2025. Fighting erupted Tuesday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, three days after a call by African leaders for a ceasefire and a brief lull in the conflict. Rwanda-backed M23 fighters attacked Congolese army positions in South Kivu province at dawn, local and security sources told AFP. The resurgence comes after east and southern African leaders called on their general staff to propose a plan for implementing an “unconditional” ceasefire by Thursday, in a conflict which has killed thousands and driven vast numbers from their homes. The M23 has in recent months swiftly seized tracts of territory in mineral-rich east DRC after again taking up arms in late 2021, in a country plagued by numerous conflicts for decades. (Photo by Jospin mwisha / AFP)

The Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday criticised the “inaction” of the UN Security Council in the wake of the M23 armed group seizing the city of Bukavu, according to a letter seen by AFP.

Congolese United Nations ambassador Zenon Mukongo Ngay submitted the letter to the Security Council denouncing its inability to rally in support of the DRC following the attack on the capital of South Kivu province in the country’s east.

“My government is outraged to see that the Security Council, paralysed by who knows what illness, has been unable to reach a decision, despite the gravity of the situation,” Mukongo Ngay wrote.

This “paralysis” gave “free rein to the continuing illegal occupation of Congolese territories by Rwandan Defense Forces and their supporters from the M23 terrorist movement,” he continued.

After seizing Goma, the capital of North Kivu, M23 fighters and Rwandan soldiers advanced to the neighbouring province of South Kivu, entering the outskirts of its capital, Bukavu, on Friday before seizing it on Sunday.

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Mukongo Ngay’s letter called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council in response to the development, urging the body to act “decisively and immediately.”

“Unsurprisingly, the Security Council’s inaction and wait-and-see attitude have only made the situation worse, culminating in the capture” of Bukavu, the letter continued.

A draft resolution spearheaded by France has been in the works since late January, with the latest version of the text reviewed by AFP demanding a halt of M23’s advancement and the withdrawal of Rwandan troops “without preconditions.”

It also urges the DRC and Rwanda to resume diplomatic talks and floats the idea of sanctioning M23 leadership and “those providing external support to the M23.”

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