Amb. Claver Gatete, the Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the UN during the Security Council briefing on April 27 has said that Rwanda is aware that the Congolese army, FARDC, is fighting the M23 alongside FDLR which was sanctioned by UNSC in 2013.
“FARDC should avoid the tendency of forging alliances with hostile and sanctioned armed groups to fight other armed groups. It is counterproductive and undermines the commitment of the region and the United Nations to stabilise eastern DRC,” Gatete said.
He added: “This alliance also puts MONUSCO in a very difficult position, because supporting FARDC while it fights alongside FDLR is tantamount to supporting a genocidal armed group.
“We call on the Security Council to condemn this alliance and urge MONUSCO through their due diligence, to avoid any military cooperation with FARDC, as long as they are allied with negative forces.”
Following the deployment of the UN Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) in 2013, Gatete noted, the M23 was the only armed group that was targeted and defeated.
Gatete reiterated Rwanda’s concerns about a selective and double-standard approach to fighting armed groups in DR Congo.
