Armed groups install ‘parallel administration’ in DR Congo, Security Council hears

ONU - 27/03
Armed groups affiliated with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have continued to expand their control in North and South Kivu – setting their sights on more territorial gains.

That’s according to the head of the UN stabilization mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita, who briefed the Security Council in New York on Thursday over escalating violence and displacement in the country since M23 overran the key cities of Goma and Bukavu last month.

These armed groups are not only seizing territory, she explained, but also attempting to install “a parallel administration”, recently appointing a governor and two-vice governors in Bukavu as well as financial and mining officials in North Kivu.

The MONUSCO peacekeepers have been in DRC since 2010 with a mandate to protect civilians and strengthen the Congolese Government’s efforts to quell violenc...
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