The European Union (EU) on Sunday strongly condemned the invasion of a territory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by M23 rebel forces.
The EU ‘s Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Mr Anouar El Anouni, made the condemnation at its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
According to the bloc’s spokesperson, the continued advance of the M23 is an unacceptable violation of agreed ceasefire, and it further deepens the disastrous humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC.
“We also discussed the issue on Monday at the Foreign Affairs Council, which is the monthly meeting of the foreign ministers of the 27 member states.
“The member states condemned the escalation of the crisis, and expressed their readiness to take measures against those that endanger peace and stability in the DRC,’’ he said.
He further said that the bloc’s Political and Security Committee (PSC), was already dealing with the issue.
“The PSC is using all tools at its disposal to hold accountable those that are responsible for sustaining armed conflict, instability and insecurity in DRC.
“We are concerned about the matter, and we are discussing it among all 27 EU member-states, ” he said.
The M23 rebel group is involved in armed cconflict with government forces in North Kivu district of DRC.
Backed by Rwandan troops, the M23 rebels recently invaded the city of Goma in eastern DRC, and have taken control of the city.
The rebels raised the prospect of further expansion of territory under their control.
The DRC’s government has described the invasion as a declaration of war by Rwanda.
Goma, a regional hub of over two million people, is on the DRC’s border with Rwanda.