STORY: African leaders call for immediate withdrawal of M23 rebels from DRC
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 16, 2025
DATELINE: Feb. 18, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:07
LOCATION: Addis Ababa
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the African Union headquarters
2. SOUNDBITE (English): BANKOLE ADEOYE, AU commissioner for political affairs, peace and security
3. various of the African Union headquarters

STORYLINE:

African leaders attending the 38th African Union (AU) Summit have urged immediate withdrawal of the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group from the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) eastern region.

In a Sunday press conference on the sidelines of the summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye said that African leaders called for preservation of and total respect for the sovereignty, political unity and territorial integrity of the DRC.

SOUNDBITE (English): BANKOLE ADEOYE, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security
"We are expressing great concern, and that is what our leaders did on the situation in eastern DRC, calling for immediate withdrawal of the M23 and their supporters from all occupied towns and cities, including Goma airport in eastern DRC. It is also important to emphasize that our leaders, even at the assembly and the council level of the peace and security council, also agreed to ensure that the two processes -- popularly called the Luanda and Nairobi processes -- remain the best form of dialogue framework for all parties. The African Union has called on all parties to the conflict in eastern DRC to embrace reconciliation and dialogue."

The commissioner noted that the continental bloc is closely following the crisis and pushing forward effective implementation of the Luanda and Nairobi processes.

According to Adeoye, the African Union condemned illegal exploitation of minerals and other natural resources in the region. The continental bloc called on all parties to the conflict in eastern DRC to embrace reconciliation and dialogue.

The M23 rebels entered the major city of Bukavu on Sunday. The armed group has been advancing since seizing eastern DRC's largest city of Goma in late January.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Addis Ababa.
(XHTV)