The White House announced a 15-day extension of a humanitarian truce in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) until August 3. This extension aims to address the ongoing conflict between government forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in North Kivu province. In a statement, White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson expressed commitment to collaborating with the governments of the DRC, Rwanda, and Angola to leverage this truce extension for establishing lasting peace. North Kivu has been a battleground between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels for the past two years. M23 asserts its fight is to protect Tutsis from FDLR, which includes extremists from the 1994 Rwandan genocide and is allegedly backed by Congo.
SOURCE: REUTERS