New UN sanctions on M23, FLDR rebels in Congo
M-23 rebel fighters are seen on a vehicle as they withdraw from Goma.
Image by: GORAN TOMASEVIC / REUTERS
Image by: GORAN TOMASEVIC / REUTERS
The UN Security Council has imposed an arms embargo on the M23 and FDLR rebel groups in an attempt to help quell fighting in Congo's conflict-wracked eastern region.
The council acted on New Year's Eve, a day before Rwanda joins the U.N. Security Council for a two-year term.
The M23 are fighters mainly from the Tutsi ethnic group that was targeted for extermination during the genocide and are believed to be backed by Rwanda. The government denies any support.
The perpetrators of the genocide were from the Hutu ethnic group who fled across the border and took refuge in the jungles of eastern Congo. Their leaders regrouped under the banner of the FDLR and have used Congo as a base to try to take back Rwanda.
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