The United Nations Security Council has entered the Eastern DRC fray. The Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the M23 rebel group to immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from all controlled areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The text - supported by all 15 members of the Council -also called on the Rwanda Defence Forces to cease support to the M23 and to immediately withdraw from the DRC territory without preconditions. The draft further expresses a readiness to consider additional measures against those who contribute to the continuation of the conflict in the DRC. The UN resolution also warns that attacks against peacekeepers may constitute a war crime.

 

To discuss this issue in greater detail  Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Willem Els from the ENACT Programme at the Institute for Security Studies and Prof. Ntsikelelo Breakfast, Director for the Centre for Security, Peace, and Conflict Resolution at Nelson Mandela University.