United Nations (AP) – The United States accused Rwanda on Friday of violating a U.S.-brokered peace deal by supporting a new and deadly offensive in mineral-rich eastern Congo and warned that the Trump administration would take action against “spoilers” of the deal.
The remarks of the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, came more than 400 civilians were killed because M23 rebels supported by Rwanda have escalated their offensive in South Kivu province in eastern Congo, according to regional officials. These officials also say Rwandan special forces were in the strategic town of Uvira.
Waltz told the UN Security Council that the US was “deeply concerned and incredibly disappointed by the renewed outbreak of violence” by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group in South Kivu.
“Rwanda is leading the region to increased instability and war,” Waltz said. “We will use the tools at our disposal to keep spoilers to peace.
He called on Rwanda to honor its commitments and recognize Congo’s right to defend its territory and invite neighboring and friendly Burundian troops to its territory to fight alongside Congolese forces.
He also said the US was engaging with all parties “to urge restraint and to avoid further escalation.
M23 latest offensive comes despite US-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington.
The deal did not include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed to a ceasefire earlier this year that both parties accuse the other of infringement. But it obliges Rwanda to stop supporting armed groups like M23 and work to end hostilities.
The rebel advance has pushed the conflict to the doorstep of neighboring Burundi, which has maintained troops in eastern Congo for years, raising fears of wider regional spillovers.
The Congolese Ministry of Communications confirmed in a statement on Friday that the M23 had captured the strategic port city of Uvira in eastern Congo, on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and directly opposite Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.
Uvira was the Congolese government’s last major foothold in South Kivu after the provincial capital Bukavu fell to rebels in February. Its capture allows the rebels to consolidate a wide corridor of influence across the east.
M23 said it took control of Uvira on Wednesday afternoon after a rapid offensive since the beginning of the month. Along with more than 400 killed, some 200,000 have been displaced, regional officials say.
Congo, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting M23, which had hundreds of members in 2021. The group now has around 6,500 fighters, according to the UN.
Waltz told the Security Council that Rwandan forces “provided materiel, logistics and training support to M23, as well as fighting alongside M23” in eastern Congo, with “roughly 5,000 to 7,000 troops in early December.”
Rwanda’s ambassador to the UN, Karoli Martin Ngoga, accused Congo of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and saying it would “never stop the attacks”.
He also accused the Congolese government of supporting the predominantly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, the FDLR, which “threatens the very existence of Rwanda and its people”.
Nearly 2 million Hutus from Rwanda then fled to the Congo 1994 Rwandan Genocide which killed 800,000 Tutsis, moderate Hutus and others. Rwandan authorities have accused Hutus who fled of taking part in the genocide and say they were protected by the Congolese army.
“Rwanda reiterates its full commitment to implement its part of the agreement,” Ngoga told the council.
While Rwanda denies claims it supports M23, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, ostensibly to ensure its security. UN experts estimate that there are many 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.
More than 100 armed groups vie for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, most notably M23. The conflict has caused one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, displacing more than 7 million people. to the UN Refugee Agency.
Civilians fleeing eastern Congo have also crossed into Burundi and there have been reports of shells hitting the town of Rugombo on the Burundian side of the border, raising fears that the conflict will spill over into Burundian territory.
Banchereau was reporting from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo, contributed to this report.
