By Michelle Nichols, UNITED NATIONS
The United Nations Security
Council on Tuesday sanctioned six people from five armed groups in eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as violent clashes escalate in the region
between the Congolese army and Rwandan-backed M23 Tutsi-led rebels.U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood
The fighting, in a war that
has lasted decades, has increased the risk of an all-out conflict between Congo
and Rwanda that could suck in neighbors and regional forces including South
Africa, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi.
"The United States firmly
supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC and lasting peace
for all Congolese people. Rwanda and the DRC must walk back from the brink of
war," Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood told a meeting of the
15-member Security Council on Tuesday.
The Security Council's DRC
sanctions committee imposed an arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze on two
leaders with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), one leader from the Twirwaneho
armed group and one from the National People's Coalition for the Sovereignty of
Congo (CNPSC) rebels.
Also added to the U.N. list
were the military spokesperson for the Rwandan-backed M23 Tutsi-led rebels and
a leader with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR),
founded by Hutus who fled Rwanda after taking part in the 1994 genocide of more
than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
"These individuals are
responsible for numerous abuses," Wood said of the six sanctioned
individuals.
A U.N. peacekeeping force,
known as MONUSCO, has been deployed in Congo for more than 13 years after
taking over from an earlier U.N. operation in 2010 to help quell insecurity in
the east of the Central African country.
The U.N. Security Council
approved the end of the mission in December following a request by Congolese
President Felix Tshisekedi in September to fast-track the withdrawal of the
peacekeepers.
No comments:
Post a Comment