Secretary-General Condemns Attack on Peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of Congo

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General condemns the incident earlier today, in which eight peacekeepers of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) were wounded during fighting between the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) in the area of Sake, 20 kilometres from Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu.  The wounded peacekeepers were deployed as part of Operation Springbok, launched in November to protect civilians in the area.

The Secretary-General recalls that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime under international law. He wishes a speedy recovery to those peacekeepers injured in today’s attack.

The Secretary-General reiterates his call on all Congolese and foreign armed groups to lay down their arms immediately and engage, without delay, in the disarmament process.  He also urges the M23 to withdraw fully from all occupied areas and abide by the provisions of the Luanda communiqué of 23 November 2022.  The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo must be fully respected.

The Secretary-General reaffirms MONUSCO’s determination to implement its protection of civilians mandate.