EU urges Rwanda to stop backing M23 rebels against DRC

The European Union has urged Rwanda to stop supporting the M23 rebel group, which has captured swathes of territory in North Kivu province in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Saturday that the European bloc had urged Rwanda to "stop supporting the M23 and use all means to press the M23 to comply with the decisions taken by the EAC (East African Community)" and at a November summit in Angola.

"It also firmly urges all states of the region to prevent the provision of any support to armed groups active in the DRC," said Borrell.

He called on Kinshasa to "take all measures necessary to protect the civilian population in its territory".

The DRC — along with the United States and several European countries — has repeatedly accused its smaller central African neighbour Rwanda of backing the M23, although Kigali denies the charge.

The Tutsi rebel group has in recent months advanced to within a few dozen kilometres of provincial capital Goma.

Under heavy international pressure to disarm, M23 joined a ceremony last week to deliver the strategic town of Kibumba to an East African military force as a "goodwill gesture" for peace.

The EAC also said the group had to withdraw to the border between the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda.

However, the DRC army promptly dubbed the Kibumba handover a "sham."

READ MORE: DRC military calls M23 rebel withdrawal 'sham'

Kinshasa welcomes UN report

In a statement on Saturday, Kinshasa welcomed a UN report that indicates it had collected proof of "direct intervention" by Rwandan defence forces inside DRC territory between at least November 2021 and last October.

The experts' report says Rwandan troops launched operations to reinforce the M23 against the mainly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) –– notably by supplying weapons, ammunition and uniforms.

Rwanda has accused the DRC — where presidential elections are due next December – of using the conflict for political purposes as well as of "fabricating" a November massacre of at least 131 civilians.

A UN probe blamed the deaths on M23 rebels.

DRC said the report "puts an end to the lies and manipulations" of Rwanda.

Given the gravity of the allegations, it called for the UN Security Council to examine the experts' report with a view to possible sanctions against Rwanda.

READ MORE: UN eases weapons embargo on DRC, extends peacekeeping force

READ MORE: International community aggravating DRC crisis, says Rwanda minister

'Vilification of Rwanda needs to stop'

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame meanwhile, blamed Kinshasa for the chaos in its wartorn eastern regions in his new year address.

"After spending tens of billions of dollars on peacekeeping over the past two decades, the security situation in Eastern Congo [DRC] is worse than ever," Kagame said in a statement on Saturday.

"To explain this failure, some in the international community blame Rwanda, even though they know very well that the true responsibility lies primarily with the government of the DRC.

"It is high time that the unwarranted vilification of Rwanda stopped."

READ MORE: M23 rebels killed dozens of civilians in DRC late last month – UN