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28 Jan, 22:09Updated at: 29 Jan, 01:58

Russia strongly condemns actions of M23 armed group in DR Congo — UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya said that Russia demands the immediate cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of militants from the seized territories

UNITED NATIONS, January 29. /TASS/. Russia expresses its resolute condemnation of actions by the M23 armed group in the Democractic Republic of the Congo (DRC), demanding the immediate cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of militants from the seized territories, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said.

"Russia strongly condemns the actions of M23," he told a UN Security Council meeting on the issue. "We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for a withdrawal of the rebels of this illegal armed group from the towns, villages and territories they have seized."

"We also call on external players to stop supporting M23 and recall their military units," Nebenzya went on. "The Luanda negotiation process must be resumed without delay. We must not allow the escalation to spiral out, as it endangers people’s lives on both sides of the border and can potentially evolve into a regional inter-State conflict."

In his view, the "already dire" situation in the province of North Kivu is turning into "an utter humanitarian disaster."

Nebenzya emphasized the need to restart the Angola-mediated talks between Rwanda and DR Congo.

"Russia, for its part, will do everything possible, including on the platform of the [UN Security] Council, to stop the escalation and restore prospects for a diplomatic settlement for the sake of stability in the east of the DRC," he added.

M23 units, supported by Rwandan forces, entered Goma late on January 26. France’s Le Monde reported that although they control a large portion of the city, there are still some pockets of resistance, and the most important of them being near Goma International Airport.

The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been smoldering for decades. After the Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, and the defeat in the civil war in 1993, part of the Rwandan government army, mostly the Hutu, retreated to Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they came into conflict with the local Tutsi, the Banyamulenge. After the Tutsi came to power in Rwanda, it came in support for the Banyamulenge. Eventually, the Banyamulenge were joined by Congolese separatists and deserters from the Congolese army to form the M23 group in 2012. Rebel groups, composed primarily of the Tutsi, plunged into hostilities in the east of the DRC in January 2021 and by now they have seized several cities and more than 100 villages in the North Kivu province.