US welcomes 15-day humanitarian truce extension in Congo

The United States has welcomed the 15-day extension of humanitarian truce committed to by the parties to the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and called upon all actors in the region to respect the truce.

In a statement released by the State Department spokesman, Mathew Miller on Wednesday, stating that the US will continue to work closely with the Govts of the DRC, Rwanda, and Angola in support of regional diplomatic efforts under tLuanda and Nairobi processes to reach a durable cessation of hostilities.

A humanitarian truce in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been extended by 15 days until 11.59 p.m. local time on Aug. 3, the White House said on Wednesday, amid efforts to end the conflict between government troops and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
North Kivu province has been battling the M23 insurgency for more than two years as well as other militia violence.

Congo, the United Nations and Western powers have repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting M23 with its own troops and weapons, which it denies.
Report has it that Rwanda accuses Congo of financing and fighting alongside a Hutu rebel group, the Democratic Forces for Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which has attacked Tutsis in both countries.

M23 says it is fighting to protect Tutsis from rivals like FDLR, whose ranks include Hutu extremists who fled to Congo after participating in the 1994 genocide targeting Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda.