In front of the African Union Summit .. Guterres calls for “avoiding regional escalation”

UN Secretary -General Antonio Guterres called on Saturday during the African Union Summit to “avoid regional escalation at any cost”, referring to the eastern Republic of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the armed M3 movement, supported by Rwanda, took control of Friday over the strategic city of Boukavo.
After the “M23” took control of the end of January on the Goma, the capital of the northern Kivu region, it continued to advance in the neighboring southern Kivu region.
The recent clashes in the region, which has been in violence for thirty years, killed at least 2,900 people, according to the United Nations.

Boukavo Airport

On Friday, the movement took control of the Rwandan forces at Boukavo airport, the capital of southern Kivu, a strategic location in which the Congolese armed forces are located and is about thirty kilometers from the city.
Then it entered the city of Boukavo, the capital of the southern region of Kivu in the eastern Republic of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to security and relief sources.

Guterres urged “respect for the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its territorial integrity” while the European Union said it “urgently studying all the options available to him.”

M23 Movement

For his part, European Union Foreign Affairs spokesman Anwar Al -Aouni confirmed on Saturday that “the continuous violation of the safety of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will not remain without a response,” and blamed the “M3 forces backed by Rwanda.”
Also, Paris called on Saturday to a “immediate” endowment of the attack by the “M23” movement on Bukavo, and demanded the “immediate withdrawal” of the Rwandan forces that support this armed group.
This conflict raises fears of the outbreak of a regional war in light of the military presence of many countries adjacent to the Democratic Congo on the lands of this vast country in Central Africa.