UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for “concrete options” to uproot the spiraling crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ban was addressing the presidents of DRC, Rwanda and Zambia as well as representatives of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.

“There is no military solution to this crisis. We must consider concrete options to bring about a peaceful resolution that is based on enhanced dialogue, deepening integration, and regional confidence-building,” the UN chief said.

On September 23, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said the March 23 movement (M23) is strengthening its grip over the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu in the eastern Congo and could seriously threaten the Congolese government.

Ban warned that “murder, pillaging and mass rape” in the eastern region of the African state have given rise to “alarming” humanitarian situation.


The M23 rebels defected from the Congolese army in April in protest over alleged mistreatment in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). They had previously been integrated into the Congolese army under a peace deal signed in 2009.

The mutiny is being led by General Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on a charge of recruiting child soldiers.

On September 11, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said M23 rebels had committed war crimes, including rapes and massacres.

Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades, such as grinding poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and a war in the east of the country that has dragged on for over a decade and left over 5.5 million people dead.
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Press TV