United States Foreign Minister, Antony Blinken has called on Rwanda to “use its influence” on the M23 rebel movement to foster lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Blickens while referring to an agreement reached under the mediation of Angola and calling for an end to the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said “If implemented, I believe it will provide a tremendous opportunity to end the conflict and hopefully bring lasting stability to eastern DRC.”
“A lot of that depends on the withdrawal of the M23, and we expect Rwanda to use its influence on the M23 to encourage that and get things done,” Blinken continued at a conference. Press in Washington.
He called on “all parties” to play their influence on the FDLR, a Hutu movement formed by some perpetrators of the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.
Leaders of the two countries met in the Angolan capital Luanda last month for a crucial summit to ease tensions between the two countries.
Rwanda has been accused of supporting the rebel group, but its president, Paul Kagame said “the problem was not created by Rwanda, and is not Rwanda’s problem. It’s Congo’s problem.”
The M23 is a rebel military group based in eastern areas of the DRC, mainly operating in the province of North Kivu. A United Nations report found that Rwanda created and commanded the M23 rebel group but Rwanda has repeatedly denied a link with the rebel group.