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- Pope Francis prayed for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, and Ukraine conflicts on Sunday.
- The DRC called for the UN to stop contributions from Rwanda over support for M23 rebels.
- The DRC Nobel Prize laureate and losing presidential candidate, Dr Denis Mukwege, said the conflict violated the territorial integrity of the Congo.
Pope Francis on Sunday called for prayers for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including it alongside Gaza and Ukraine with the plea: "May the hostilities that cause immense suffering to the civilian population cease as soon as possible."
While the eastern part of the DRC is technically not in a state of declared war, as is Ukraine and Gaza, Kinshasa has sought to officially link Rwanda to the rebels operating there, calling on the international community to isolate Kigali as it did Moscow.
Meanwhile, the situation in the DRC is rapidly evolving. Following fierce battles on 4 March and 5 March, M23 rebels took control of Nyanzale, a town in Rutshuru that is home to more than 80 000 people.
Nyanzale is about 70 kilometres from the provincial capital of Goma.
Call for isolation
On Saturday, Zénon Mukongo, DRC's ambassador to the United Nations (UN) told the UN's Security Council (UNSC) that Rwanda should be kicked out of UN forums because it had violated basic international law.
"In principle, countries like Rwanda which constantly trample on the basic rules of international law, as well as the values and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, should be deprived of the right to speak in the forums of the United Nations until the cessation of their reprehensible behaviour, in this case, the total withdrawal by Rwanda of its troops from the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo," he said.
Rwanda is a highly active member of the UN, contributing the third-largest police and troop contingent for UN peacekeeping operations.
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According to Rwandan statistics, the country contributes 4 685 contingent troops and 1 105 police peacekeepers.
It also has the highest number of women peacekeepers in UN missions.
In the past few weeks, Rwanda discouraged the UN and AU's security councils from offering assistance to the SADC forces in DRC (SAMIDRC) because Kigali fears the possibility of a regional war.
Those forces are under South African command.
Communique of the 1203rd meeting of the PSC held on 4 March 2024, on Consideration of the Situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (#DRC, #DRCongo) and the Deployment of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC):https://t.co/sMhGufWjeZ
— African Union Political Affairs Peace and Security (@AUC_PAPS) March 9, 2024
Addressing the UNSC, Mukongo added that the plea by Rwanda was a "diversionary campaign to which the Security Council should pay no attention."
On Saturday, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi attended the 24th ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of States of Central Africa (CEEAC) in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
At the session, he also called on his counterparts at the CEEAC to impose sanctions on Rwanda.
However, the CEEAC advised the DRC and Rwanda to find a diplomatic solution to their fallout by following the Luanda Process.
View from the opposition
Opposition politician and Nobel Prize laureate Dr Denis Mukwege wrote an open letter to the UNSC, expressing his deep concern about the escalation of armed violence and its disastrous impact on the protection of civilians.
He shared the same view as the DRC government that "this war of aggression and occupation being waged over large swathes of North Kivu province violates the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the DRC, the basic principles of the United Nations Charter".
Tshisekedi's government has on numerous occasions called for M23 rebels and Rwanda to withdraw from its territory before any form of negotiations take place.
Mukwege, a gynaecologist by profession, also raised the alarm on sexual violations, the use of child soldiers, and attacks on humanitarian agencies operating in the region.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
