After the demonstrations, Western embassies reaffirmed their position on the conflict in the East

Published on: 02/09/2024 – 23:22

2 minutes

With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Patient Ligodi

On the ground, armed clashes continue between the FARDC and the M23 about 30 km from Goma, thus emphasizing the already serious humanitarian crisis in North Kivu province. Displaced people are flocking to the regional capital. At the same time, images of members of the government, with their hands over their mouths and their fingers imitating a gun at their temples, circulated widely on the Internet. This representation, popularized by the national football team DRC, is intended to condemn what some perceive as the silence of the international community in the face of ongoing security and humanitarian crises. It is in this context that dozens of young people demonstrated this Friday, forcing Western embassies to react and reaffirm their position in the conflict.

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Embassy of United States In Kinshasa, Washington launched a vague appeal assuring its support for the DRC. Strong, stable and peaceful ” Ambassador Lucy Tamlin recalled the terms set Felix Shisekadi Prior to any dialogue with Kigali, stressed that his country is convinced that peace can only be achieved if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC is respected. She also reiterated the condemnation M23 and charged Rwanda To support this movement, which has been under American sanctions since 2013.

In Brussels, a similar tone was adopted on Friday. The Belgian foreign minister also asked Rwanda to end all support for M23, while reminding Congolese authorities of the need to ensure that loyalist forces do not collaborate with the FDLR.

For its part, the United Kingdom highlighted that more than 135,000 people were displaced in a single week in towns and villages in North and South Kivu, including thousands who fled their homes following an attack on the M23 on Wednesday 7 February.

Thus, London condemned the violent M23 aggression and pledged to support the objective of fostering dialogue and promoting a return to regional peace-building processes.

It is with this in mind that United Nations Special Envoy for Africa’s Great Lakes Region Huang Xia met with Joao Lourenco this week. The Angolan president is the African Union-appointed mediator in the crisis.