{"id":51540,"date":"2025-01-23T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/guterres-voices-alarm-over-m23-rebel-offensive-in-dr-congo-devastating-toll-on-civilians\/"},"modified":"2025-01-23T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T12:00:00","slug":"guterres-voices-alarm-over-m23-rebel-offensive-in-dr-congo-devastating-toll-on-civilians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=51540","title":{"rendered":"Guterres voices alarm over M23 rebel offensive in DR Congo, \u2018devastating toll\u2019 on civilians"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres in a statement issued by his Spokesperson noted the Rwandan-backed rebels seizure of Sake, in South Kivu, \u201cwhich increases the threat\u201d to the regional capital Goma \u2013 all of which is \u201cheightening the threat of a regional war.\u201d Rwanda denies any direct involvement with M23 fighters.<\/p>\n

Since the UN Mission withdrew from South Kivu in June 2024, peacekeepers have defended key positions in North Kivu, including Goma and Sake, where clashes between the M23, the Congolese Armed Forces and other armed groups have continued.<\/p>\n

Recent fighting in the village of Bweremana north of Minova claimed at least 10 lives and triggered mass displacement toward Kalehe, Goma and Rusayo, leaving more than 250,000 people displaced, the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Secretary-General calls on the M23 to immediately cease its offensive, withdraw from all occupied areas and abide by the 31 July 2024 ceasefire agreement,\u201d said the UN chief\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

Rwandan troops inside DRC<\/strong><\/h2>\n

He added that he was deeply troubled by the most recent report of the Group of Experts established under Security Council resolution 1533, which highlighted the \u201cpresence of Rwandan troops on Congolese soil and continued support to the M23.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He calls on all involved in the on-going conflict in eastern DRC to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC and \u201cput an end to all forms of support to armed groups, whether Congolese or foreign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Guterres also reaffirmed his \u201cunwavering support\u201d for the Luanda peace process headed by President Jo\u00e3o Louren\u00e7o of Angola to de-escalate tensions between the DRC and Rwanda.<\/p>\n

Mediation talks began in the Angolan capital in June 2022. The UN chief commended the Angolan president for progress made so far.<\/p>\n

Civilian protection paramount<\/h2>\n

\u201cHe urges the parties to remain engaged in the Luanda process and maintain momentum on the neutralization of the FDLR [ethnic Hutu rebel group of exiled Rwandan refugees] and withdrawal of Rwandan forces, as well as the swift operationalization of the Reinforced Ad-Hoc Verification Mechanism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UN chief urged all parties to the fighting to uphold human rights and international humanitarian law, including by ensuring immediate and unfettered access to populations in need of humanitarian assistance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe reaffirms the determination of MONUSCO to implement its mandate to protect civilians. He strongly condemns action by any party that endangers the safety and security of UN blue helmets and civilian personnel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres in a statement issued by his Spokesperson noted the Rwandan-backed rebels seizure of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[3511,1598,482,3351,1074,4784,1087,3053,1737,4783],"class_list":["post-51540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","tag-alarm","tag-civilians","tag-congo","tag-devastating","tag-guterres","tag-m23","tag-offensive","tag-rebel","tag-toll","tag-voices"],"yoast_head":"\nGuterres voices alarm over M23 rebel offensive in DR Congo, \u2018devastating toll\u2019 on civilians - Gulf Times | News by the minute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gulf Times: Latest news across the GCC from UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/feed\/view\/en\/story\/2025\/01\/1159396\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guterres voices alarm over M23 rebel offensive in DR Congo, \u2018devastating toll\u2019 on civilians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gulf News| UAE's Largest News aggregator site\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/feed\/view\/en\/story\/2025\/01\/1159396\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gulf Times | News by the minute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100084981843786\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-23T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1737674786_image560x340cropped.avif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"340\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"gulftimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Gulftimesuae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Gulftimesuae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"gulftimes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Guterres voices alarm over M23 rebel offensive in DR Congo, \u2018devastating toll\u2019 on civilians - 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