PARIS, Jan 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France on Thursday called on Rwandan forces and Kigali-backed M23 rebels to withdraw from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
It comes days after M23 claimed control over the key eastern Congolese city of Goma.
Paris reiterated its condemnation of the M23 offensive in Congo.
“The sovereignty and territorial integrity of [Congo] are not negotiable,” French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Cristophe Lemoine said.
“The M23 must immediately withdraw from the territories it has taken control of. Rwandan forces must urgently leave the territory of the DRC,” he said.
He said that Foreign Minster Jean-Noel Barrot had traveled to Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, after having visited Kinshasa.
The spokesperson said that Paris supported diplomatic efforts by Angola and Kenya to mediate peace talks between Congo and Rwanda.
The minister’s visit comes after protesters stormed the French embassy and other diplomatic missions in Congo’s capital.
The M23 group pledged that it would continue its offensive in Congo after capturing the North Kivu provincial capital of Goma.
“We will continue the march of liberation all the way to Kinshasa,” said Corneille Nangaa, head of a coalition of groups including M23, according to Rwandan media.
“We are in Goma and we will not leave… for as long as the questions for which we took up arms have not been answered,” he said.
The statement comes after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi vowed a “vigorous and coordinated response” against M23 and Rwandan forces.
Also on Thursday, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said that Kigali was ready for “confrontation” with South Africa over Pretoria’s condemnation of the M23 offensive.
13 South African soldiers, who are present in eastern Congo as part of a UN peacekeeping, have been killed since the escalation of hostilities last week.
M23 has continued to make gains in recent days, pushing beyond Goma into the province of South Kivu.
Rwanda has accused Congo of supporting ethnic Hutu-led militias Kigali says are linked to the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
Congo denies the charges, in turn accusing Rwanda of using M23 as a way to take control of mineral-rich territory in the Central African country. — NNN-AGENCIES