Uhuru urges M23 rebels to desist from further hostilities in DRC

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, in his capacity as the facilitator of the EAC-led Nairobi Process on the Restoration of Peace and Stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has urged warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo to lay down their arms in line with the Luanda Agreement.  

In a statement on Thursday, Uhuru specifically encouraged M23 rebels who had seized large areas of DRC's North Kivu province to cease hostilities and withdraw to the points agreed upon through the Luanda Process which has been re-enforced by the Bujumbura Communique.   

"The Facilitator urges the countries of the East African Community Regional Force (EAC-RF) to deploy and take up their positions urgently and without further delay throughout the eastern DRC, and in the case of the North Kivu, for the regional force to inter-pose itself between the fighting forces in areas where the withdrawal of the armed groups has been effected," said Kenyatta.

While lauding the intervention of regional heads of state in the conflict, Kenyatta noted that he will step up the planning of the Nairobi IV consultative meeting in a bid to end the ongoing feud between the DRC government and M-23 rebels.

"The Facilitator will mobilize international and regional support for the consultative process. Nairobi-IV will be complex in its execution and will require the cooperation of multiple partners and the financial and logistical investment of all concerned," he said.

"In order to accelerate the plans for Nairobi-IV and to further legitimize the work of the Facilitator, the Facilitator urges all Parties to accelerate the implementation of the outcomes of Nairobi-III in order to build confidence and to embed commitment from the respective communities in the eastern DRC to the Nairobi Peace Process."

Kenyatta similarly urged both local and international humanitarian organizations to offer humanitarian support to the people of DRC, specifically Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have been dislodged from their homes owing to the ongoing conflict.  

"The Facilitator calls for special attention to be given to the children and women and the disabled who remain particularly vulnerable and whose suffering is beyond measure," he said.