Kampala, Jan 29 (IANS) Uganda has called for talks between warring parties in a bid to end the escalation of fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a top official said.
Chris Baryomunsi, Uganda’s minister of ICT and national guidance, told reporters here that the decision calling for talks was reached during a Cabinet meeting on Monday.
“As a government, our view is that the fighting groups should come to the table to negotiate and find a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” Baryomunsi said. “As we all know, the DRC has not been at rest for many years.”
He noted that the ongoing fighting continues to raise concern not only for the international community but also for the East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc bringing together eight countries.
He said Uganda welcomes efforts by the heads of state of the EAC to convene a summit aimed at ending the escalation that has left scores dead and hundreds displaced.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday that he was deeply concerned by the escalating violence in the eastern DRC, and reiterated his strongest condemnation of the March 23 Movement (M23)’s ongoing offensive and advances toward Goma, the capital of the DRC’s eastern province of North Kivu.
Guterres called on the M23 to immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas. More than 400,000 people have been displaced since the start of 2025 in the eastern DRC, according to the UN.
Meanwhile, tensions are running high in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as fighting between the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group and the DRC army continues in the eastern city of Goma, while civilian protests intensify in the capital, Kinshasa.
Hostilities resumed on Tuesday morning in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province and a regional hub, after a relatively calm night. Mediation efforts to restore peace remain pending on various regional and international platforms.
Local sources told Xinhua that intense fighting has been ongoing since early Tuesday near the airport, a strategic location that previously fell into the hands of the rebels.
In Kinshasa, the city woke up in turmoil as civil society groups mobilised the local population to protest against the violence in Goma and the inaction of the international community.
Protesters flooded the city’s major arteries, slowing traffic, blocking commercial activities, burning tyres and chanting in front of the foreign embassies and the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission.
–IANS
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