Congo’s president says he’ll create a unity government as violence spreads

Kinshasa (Congo), Feb 23: Congo’s president says he is going to launch a unity government, as violence spreads across the country’s east and pressure mounts over his handling of the crisis.

On Saturday, in some of his first statements since Rwandan-backed rebels captured major cities in eastern Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi, told a meeting of the Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition not to be distracted by internal quarrels.

“I lost the battle and not the war. I must reach out to everyone including the opposition. There will be a government of national unity,” said Tshisekedi. He didn’t give more details on what that would entail or when it would happen.

M23 rebels — the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control and influence in eastern Congo — have swept through the region seizing key cities, killing some 3,000 people. In a lightning three-week offensive, the M23 took control of eastern Congo’s main city Goma and seized the second largest city, Bukavu.

The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, according to UN experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles away.

Rwanda has accused Congo of enlisting ethnic Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

M23 says it’s fighting to protect Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed state to a modern one. Analysts have called those pretexts for Rwanda’s involvement.

On Saturday, Tshisekedi paid tribute to soldiers who were killed and vowed to prop up the army. (AP)

Hot this week

Meghalaya man missing in Bangkok

Shillong, Jan 10: A 57-year-old Meghalaya resident, Mr. Treactchell...

Pay hike of Assam ministers, MLAs likely as 3-member panel submits report

Full report likely by Oct 30 Guwahati Sept 25: There...

ANSAM rejects Kuki’s separate administration demand, says bifurcation not acceptable

Guwahati, Sept 8: Rejecting the separate administration demand of...

Meghalaya Biological Park Inaugurated After 25 Years: A New Chapter in Conservation and Education

Shillong, Nov 28: Though it took nearly 25 years...

Meghalaya’s historic fiber paves the way for eco-friendly products and sustainable livelihoods

By Roopak Goswami Shillong, Oct 25: From making earbuds to...

4 injured in clash in Nagaland

Kohima, Mar 31: At least four persons were injured...

Eid celebrated with religious fervour in Nagaland

Kohima, Mar 31: Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with religious fervour...

Six drug traffickers, 4 poppy cultivators arrested in Manipur

Imphal, Mar 31: Six alleged drug traffickers and four...

Kerala Minister Sivankutty urges ASHA workers to send their cut hair to Centre

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 31: Kerala Labour Minister V Sivankutty on...

Gas cylinder blast triggers fire at market in Varanasi; no one injured

Varanasi, Mar 31: A gas cylinder explosion triggered...

Fr Bernard Laloo new Auxiliary Bishop of Shillong Archdiocese

Shillong, Mar 31: Father Bernard Laloo was officially ordained...

Bodofa Upendra Nath Brahma: The Visionary Leader Who Redefined Bodo Identity

By Dipak Kurmi Upendra Nath Brahma, fondly remembered as "Thopen"...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img