North Kivu: facilitator Kenyatta visits the combat zone

As part of the facilitation mission entrusted to him by the East African Community states, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has been staying since Tuesday in the city of Goma, capital of the province of North- Kivu in the east of the DRC. During this stay, he made it his mission to bring comfort to those displaced by war who had fled the advance of the M23 in the territory of Rutshuru. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Uhuru Kenyatta was welcomed by the military governor of North Kivu and his security committee, Lieutenant General Constant Ndima. Together, they went to the Kanyaruchinya IDP site in Nyirangongo territory, which hosts more than 200,000 war-displaced people who fled the advance of M23 rebels who control part of Rutshuru territory.

In his press briefing, Mr. Kenyatta said he feared a humanitarian tragedy in the territory of Nyiragongo where thousands of displaced people found themselves.

“What I have just seen in Goma and its surroundings worries me. It is a humanitarian disaster that could occur if nothing is done”, he said.

Uhuru Kenyatta, appointed last June by his peers to mediate in the Congolese crisis, arrived in Kinshasa (capital of the DRC) last Saturday. He has already met presidents of the two chambers of the Congolese parliament and representatives of communities of the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri as well as diplomats.

The Congolese side repeated to him the eternal accusations against Rwanda, which it accuses of supporting M23 rebels, allegations that President Paul Kagame again rejected last weekend on the sidelines of a “Unity Club” meeting, a forum of Rwandan leaders and their wives created by First Lady Jeannette Kagame.