London calls for unity on DRC conflict

• Tweet

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Members of the international community need to stand together to ensure the crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo comes to an end, a British official said.

The United Nations hosted a conference on the crisis the DRC on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly this week.

Members of the March 23 Movement in DRC rebelled against the government early this year. Its leader, Bosco Ntaganda, is suspected of conscripting child soldiers into the rebel group.

British Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds said his government was standing behind efforts to find a way to end the conflict and subsequent humanitarian crisis. By London's estimate, at least 300,000 people have been displaced by the conflict in DRC.

"It is vital that the international community focuses on building a lasting peace in a region blighted by a cycle of conflict and violence," he said in a statement. "The M23 must immediately cease their activities, external support for the M23 militia must stop, and those who commit human rights abuses must be brought to justice."

The Rwandan government was accused of supporting the M23 militia, though it denied the allegations. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this week there is no military solution to the conflict.