UNITED NATIONS, February 6. /TASS/. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a call to end violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as summits in Tanzania and Ethiopia are preparing to convene to discuss ways out of the crisis.
"Let us all act together for peace," he said. "Silence the guns. Stop the escalation. Respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
In his words, the conflict, unleashed by the M23 group with the support of Rwandan armed forces, has already left thousands of civilians dead, including women and children, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
The secretary-general went on to say that the situation in the conflict-hit region continues to deteriorate, with countless reports of human rights abuses coming from aid organizations. Residents face sexual and gender-based violence, forced recruitment, and the disruption of lifesaving aid, he said.
According to Guterres, many of the previous sites hosting displaced people north of the Congolese city of Goma are now looted, destroyed or abandoned, while healthcare facilities are overwhelmed.
The secretary-general called upon the global community, including DR Congo’s neighbors, as well as regional organizations, such as the African Union, to step up their effort for resolving the crisis. He emphasized that there is no military solution to the crisis, and called upon the sides to return to peace talks.
He called upon signatories of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DR Congo and the region to honor their commitments. "The stakes are too high," he added.
Forces of the M23 armed group, supported by the Rwandan army, entered Goma, the administrative center of DR Congo’s North Kivu province, on January 26 and took almost the entire city under their control three days later. Subsequently, they started advancing towards Bukavu, the administrative center of the neighboring South Kivu province. On Monday, M23 announced a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons, Previously, the group voiced plans to march towards DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa.
On February 7, leaders from the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community will take part in a Summit in Tanzania. Next week, a summit-level meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council will be held with the UN secretary-general attending. This crisis in DR Congo will be on top of the agenda of both meetings.