NEW YORK
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged action against a Congo-based Rwandan rebel group after it failed to meet a deadline for surrender.
In a phone call with Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila, Ban said the Jan. 2 deadline for Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda’s unconditional surrender expired without significant results.
“The Secretary-General called for decisive action against the armed group,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Leaders of the group are accused of being among the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The group’s military commander, Sylvestre Mudacumura, is also wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in connection with a murderous rampage in the north and south Kivu regions in eastern Congo in 2009 and 2010.
In July 2014, countries in the region set a deadline for the group to fully and unconditionally surrender by Jan. 2.
The UN announced Monday that its peacekeeping force in Congo and the Congolese army would begin a joint military operation against the rebel group after its failure to meet the deadline.
