Brussels - The European Union on Monday sounded the alarm about violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, calling for an end to support for armed groups in the area.
EU President Herman Van Rompuy lamented the “tragic consequences for the civil population, especially women and children,” in comments made after meeting with Congolese Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo in Brussels.
“I took advantage of this meeting to reiterate the EU's solidarity for the DRC when it comes to respecting its territorial integrity and underlined the urgency that all aid - in particular from the outside - to M23 and other armed groups ... end without delay,” he said.
Fighting broke out in April between the M23 militia and government forces, creating a security vacuum that has allowed other armed groups to re-emerge in the tense eastern parts of the country.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, with the United Nations estimating that their ranks could soon swell to 760,000. There have also been reports of armed groups massacring hundreds of people in the area.
Rwanda and Uganda have both been accused of aiding M23, but have denied doing so.
Much of the violence in eastern Congo stems from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which saw militants involved in the killing flee across the border.
“No durable political solution is possible without the return of a positive regional dynamic to the Great Lakes (region),” Van Rompuy warned.
While in Brussels, Ponyo was also set to meet with a series of Belgian officials. The Central African country was a Belgian colony until 1960. - Sapa-dpa