“It is a frontal aggression, a declaration of war which no longer hides behind diplomatic artifices “said Therese Kayikwamba Wagner.
Rwandan troops, representing between 500 and 1,000 men, arrived on Sunday in reinforcement of the M23 armed group around Goma, the east city of the DRC prey to fights, according to UN sources at AFP.
“More than three million civilians as well as humanitarian workers are taken hostage by the attackers, used as shields in a cynical strategy of terror and chaos”denounced the Congolese minister, accusing Rwanda of preparing to “orchestrate an open -air carnage”.
“It is imperative that the fights cease immediately. Each time passing by our region brings our region closer to a tragedy of an unbearable scale”she said.
The Minister asked the Council to demand the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and to impose economic and political sanctions against Rwanda.
-“The Security Council must impose targeted sanctions including the freezing of assets and the ban on travel, not only against identified members of the Rwandan Armed Forces command chain, but also against political decision -makers responsible for this attack”she said.
She also asked for a “total embargo on the exports of all the minerals labeled as Rwandan, in particular the Coltan and the Gold”, and demanded that Rwanda will no longer be authorized to send troops in the missions of maintaining the UN peace.
At this stage, the Security Council has never appointed Rwanda as a stakeholder in the conflict.
