Congo-Kinshasa: U.S. Urges Respect For DR Congo ‘Sovereignty’ As Fighting Rages On
Monrovia — The U.S. government stressed its “firm support” for the Congolese people – and their right to “sovereignty and territorial integrity” – as government forces in the central African nation struggle to contain an advance from Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the east of the country. Speaking during a press briefing on March 6, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tommy Bruce said the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, called for an immediate ceasefire, while urging accountability for human rights abuses and other violations.
Bruce said the U.S. wants to see a return to the Angolan-led “Luanda Process” that will resolve to the conflict. He was referring to a peace initiative launched in 2022 in the Angolan capital, which received the backing of the African Union. The long-running peace effort, alongside a parallel process brokered by former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, has had several glitches.
Fighting between the M23 rebels and Congolese security forces escalated in early 2025 in the mineral-rich east, where a series of armed groups have been vying for control. The Congolese government, along with the United Nations and western governments, accuse Rwanda of backing the rebels’ latest push, which has killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands more, as the rebels capture the regional capital of Goma and Bukavu in the North Kivu province.
Several regional peace initiatives, including by the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community, have stalled as fears for a wider regional conflict grow. The U.S. and European nations – including Germany and the United Kingdom – have all urged Rwanda to stop its backing for the rebels in Congo, with threats of withholding aid – although Rwanda insists it has only engaged in actions to protect its borders.
Rubio engaged in phone conversations with several regional stakeholders to help end the conflict, Bruce said: “And that is going to continue. It will not soften or end.”
The U.S. Treasury Department in February imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Minister of State, James Kabarebe, and a senior member of the M23 rebels for “enabling the RDF (Rwandan Defense Force) and M23’s destabilizing activities in the eastern DRC”. Kabarebe, a retired army general, is accused of playing a central role in orchestrating support for M23.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department Spokesperson said the decision by President Donald Trump to suspend the operations of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) doesn’t mean that the U.S will no longer engage in foreign aid.
“It’s a matter of how are we going to be doing the aid and if it is effective, and if it is efficient, and if it achieves the goals that we want that make America safe, more prosperous, more secure,” Bruce said.
By Allafrica
