The African Union, AU, has warned against the break-up of the Democratic Republic of Congo, two days after the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group entered a second city in the country’s east.
The AU’s Peace and Security Commissioner, Bankole Adeoye, issued the warning on Sunday.
“We don’t want a balkanisation of eastern DRC. We are calling for the immediate removal of M23 and their supporters from all towns and cities, including Goma airport,” he said.
M23 seized the provincial capital, Goma, at the end of January before pushing south in an escalation of violence in the eastern region, which has already endured decades of clashes.
The conflict is said to have rattled other nations.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Saturday that a regional escalation must be avoided at all costs.
