Rwandan President Paul Kagame
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WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The United States on
Tuesday called on Rwanda to end support for M23 rebels in neighboring
Democratic Republic of Congo, saying there was evidence Rwandan military
officials were involved.
"We call upon Rwanda to
immediately end any support for the M23 (and) withdraw military
personnel from eastern DRC," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki
said.
She declined to say whether Rwandan President Paul Kagame was implicated. "I wasn't speaking to Kagame himself," she added.
The
call comes two days before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry leads a
special session of the United Nations Security Council on Africa's Great
Lakes region.
Psaki said the concerns followed a
"credible body of evidence" in a recent report by Human Rights Watch
that said M23 rebels in Congo were to blame for executions, rapes and
forcible recruitment of men and boys while receiving support from
Rwanda.
M23 began taking parts of eastern Congo early
last year, accusing the government of failing to honor a 2009 peace
deal. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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