Truce broker US urges Rwanda, M23 to 'withdraw' troops from eastern DRC

The United States and European powers have called on Rwanda's military and M23 fighters to halt immediately an offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, days after the countries' presidents signed an agreement in Washington.

The group led by the United States voiced "profound concern" about the fighting near Burundi and said it had "a destabilising potential for the whole region."

A joint statement said the coalition "urges the M23 and the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) to immediately halt their offensive operations in eastern DRC, in particular in South Kivu, and calls on the RDF to withdraw from eastern DRC." Rwanda has repeatedly denied reports of working alongside M23 to fuel instability in eastern DRC.

The joint statement issued by the US State Department also calls on the M23 "to return to its positions and uphold... commitments of the Declaration of Principles" reached in negotiations with the Kinshasa government held in Qatar in July.

'Significant escalation'

Also signing the statement was the European Union.

The Rwandan and DRC presidents had signed an agreement on Thursday in Washington in the presence of US President Donald Trump.

However, both the DRC and neighbouring Burundi have voiced alarm in the days since then as M23 rebels have attacked border areas.

The US and EU joint statement also expressed "particular concern at the increased use of drones in the conflict."

"This represents a significant escalation in the fighting and poses an acute risk to civilian populations," it said.