Luanda – The President of Angola, João Lourenço, has manifested his preoccupation about the deep deterioration of the situation in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which threatens peace and security in the central African nation.
The stance comes on a communiqué that has reached ANGOP, which explains that the mentioned deterioration is mainly observed in the provinces of Kivu North and Kivu South.
The note adds that the escalation of attacks carried out by the M23 group and the recent illegal occupation of the territories and cities of Sake and Minova reflect a worrying development in this conflict.
Such rise in tensions have enormous implications on the fragile humanitarian situation, mainly around Goma City, which is now under siege.
Thus, the Angolan Head of State repudiates vehemently such irresponsible actions being perpetrated by the M23 group and its supporters, for they put at risk all the effort and progress made in the ambit of the Luanda Process, which vies for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, deploring the nefarious consequences for regional security.
The communiqué also states that Angola exhorts the parties in the conflict to respect human rights, protect civilians and safeguard the integrity and security of the forces that belong to the Enhanced Ad Hoc verification Mechanism (EAM-R), deployed in Goma, in the framework of the facilitation efforts.
João Lourenço reiterated that the conflict and challenges of security in the East of DR Congo do not have a military solution, so he calls on the parties in the conflict to immediately engage in negotiations. SC/jmc
