Welcoming the Start of Military Operations Against the FDLR
Saturday, 31 January 2015, 12:29 pm
Press Release: U.S. Department of State
The United States welcomes the announcement by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of the start of military operations against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group that has inflicted immeasurable suffering on the civilian population of eastern DRC and Rwanda for over 20 years. The UN Security Council has mandated the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to protect civilians and, in support of the DRC authorities, to neutralize armed groups including the FDLR. Last July, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gave the FDLR, including its leadership, a clear deadline of January 2, 2015 to surrender fully and unconditionally or face military consequences. However, the FDLR failed to deliver on its promise to surrender and instead used this period to continue to commit human rights abuses, recruit new combatants, and pursue its illegitimate political agenda.
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www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1501/S00268/...-against-the-fdlr.htm