EU summons Rwandan ambassador over DR Congo offensive

BRUSSELS - The EU on Friday summoned Rwanda's ambassador to demand Kigali pull out troops from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and stop backing an offensive by the M23 armed group.

M23 forces have seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC -- including the main cities of Goma and Bukavu -- in the face of limited resistance from Congolese forces.

"The European Union has today summoned the ambassador of Rwanda to the EU due to the ongoing offensive of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and M23 in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)," the EU said in a statement.

"The Government of Rwanda must immediately withdraw all RDF troops from the DRC territory and stop supporting the M23 and any other armed group."

United Nations experts have said Rwanda effectively controls the M23 and has at least 4,000 troops fighting alongside the group.

READ: US sanctions Rwandan minister over DR Congo fighting

But Kigali has denied involvement in the conflict and says it faces a threat from ethnic Hutu fighters in the DRC.

The EU's move comes after Germany on Thursday summoned the Rwandan ambassador in Berlin and the United States imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s minister for regional integration James Kabarebe.

The 27-nation bloc is mulling its own measures against Kigali.

READ: UK summons Rwandan envoy over M23 advance in DR Congo

Belgium is spearheading a push for sanctions that could include targeting individual Rwandan officials, blocking a minerals deal, or suspending development aid and support for Kigali's peacekeepers in Mozambique.

EU foreign ministers are set to discuss the conflict on Monday at a regular meeting in Brussels.

The fighting in recent weeks has raised fears of a repeat of the Second Congo War, from 1998 to 2003, which drew in multiple African countries and resulted in millions of deaths from violence, disease and starvation.