STORY: DR Congo continues diplomatic efforts amid truce with M23: FM 
SHOOTING TIME: July 8, 2024
DATELINE: July 9, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:59
LOCATION: Kinshasa
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the press briefing
2. SOUNDBITE (French): THERESE KAYIKWAMBA WAGNER, DRC state minister for Foreign Affairs
3. various of the press briefing
4. various of military operations in North Kivu, DRC (shot in 2023)
5. various of camps for internally displaced people in North Kivu, DRC (shot in 2023)

STORYLINE:

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will engage in diplomatic efforts during and after its humanitarian truce with the rebellion of the March 23 Movement (M23), which has taken numerous parts in eastern DRC, said Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, DRC state minister for Foreign Affairs, at a press briefing on Monday.

This truce, from July 5 to 19, constitutes "a path marked out for the return of peace" in the eastern DRC, troubled by violence for decades, underlined Wagner, ensuring that the protection of the DRC population remains "the first priority" of her mandate.
   
"A truce does not mean that we are not vigilant," explained Wagner, who said that diplomatic efforts aim at a "lasting solution" to restore peace.

DRC authorities accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels, an accusation rejected by Kigali.

SOUNDBITE (French): THERESE KAYIKWAMBA WAGNER, DRC state minister for Foreign Affairs
"For the DRC, our first priority is the security and protection of our civil population. This is the goal of a humanitarian truce. That is why we adhere to the truce. But a truce does not mean that we are immobile, that we are not vigilant. We closely watch the situation in North Kivu and beyond. A truce does not mean the status quo. Violation of the DRC's territorial integrity by armed forces is not the status quo that we accept."

"We remain firm in our position that any discussions will take place within the framework of the Luanda peace process," initiated by Angolan President Joao Lourenco, said Wagner when responding to a query regarding dialogue between the DRC and Rwanda.

More than 900,000 newly displaced people were reported between January and April 2024, bringing the total number of the displaced to around 7.3 million in the country, including more than 5.6 million in the three eastern provinces, namely North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The DRC is experiencing "one of the most serious, most complex and most neglected humanitarian crises of this era," noted Bintou Keita, the representative of the UN Secretary-General in the DRC before the UN Security Council in New York Monday.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kinshasa.
(XHTV)