Security in Congo’s mineral-rich east is deteriorating with rebel group expanding territory, UN says

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The special U.N. envoy for Congo says security in the African nation’s mineral-rich east has deteriorated since recent elections, with a rebel group allegedly linked to neighboring Rwanda making “significant advances and expanding its territory.” Bintou Keita told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that this has created “an even more disastrous humanitarian situation, with internal displacement reaching unparalleled numbers.” Last month, the United States told Rwanda and Congo that they “must walk back from the brink of war,” the sharpest warning yet of a looming conflict. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood again condemned “the aggressive military incursion” into eastern Congo by the M23 rebel group and the Rwandan Defense Force and attacks including on U.N. peacekeepers.