JOHANNESBURG
The Democratic Republic of Congo called for the withdrawal of M23 rebels as well as Rwandan forces from the eastern city of Goma.
“We need to see concrete action, what really this means is to have the evidence that this is not a cosmetic fix,” Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told South African broadcaster Newzroom Afrika about the unilateral ceasefire declared by M23 rebels.
M23 on Monday declared a ceasefire after two weeks of clashes with the Congolese army for the control of Goma.
According to the UN, over 900 people have been killed in the clashes and 2,880 injured.
“For humanitarian solutions and for humanitarian access to be reestablished first of all, we would need Goma to be demilitarized,” Wagner said, calling for the M23 rebels and the Rwanda forces to leave immediately.
Wagner said the Rwandan forces and the M23 allegedly cut off water and electricity supply and all access roads leading to and from Goma.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has frequently denied claims that his country supports the M23 rebels.
Declining to deny the presence of Rwandan forces in Goma as claimed by Kinshahsa, Kagame told CNN he does “not know” if his country’s troops are in Goma, where fighting between the M23 armed group and Congolese soldiers has killed hundreds.
M23 claims its fight is driven by grievances about alleged discrimination against Tutsi communities in the region.
Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya on Tuesday called the unilateral ceasefire declared by rebels as “false communication.”
But “all we are waiting for is the withdrawal of the M23,” said Muyaya.
Kinshasa has vowed to reclaim the city.
