The U.S. State Department has called on Rwanda to cease using GPS jamming equipment in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where millions of conflict-displaced people are in urgent need of aid.
According to a statement released on Wednesday, the jamming and the practice of “spoofing” are obstructing United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian flights in the region.
Spoofing is a situation in which a person or program successfully identifies as another by falsifying data, to conceal their true identities, and gain an illegitimate advantage.
“These actions endanger UN and humanitarian personnel while blocking needed relief for civilians suffering from the related violence,” it said.
A UN report released earlier accused Rwanda of having up to 4,000 troops in DR Congo to help the M23 rebel group in its fight against government government forces. Rwanda has denied its military presence in the resource-rich country.
The UN experts’ report also revealed that both Rwandan forces and the M23 are using jamming equipment to block military and surveillance drones from monitoring areas they control.
Additionally, the U.S. condemned the ongoing alliance between Congo’s army and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group with ties to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Bloomberg reported.
The FDLR has been assisting Congo’s forces in their fight against the M23, which opposes the militia’s continued presence in Congo.
The U.S. called on Congo to engage in dialogue with all armed groups in the region, which has endured decades of conflict. “There is no road to peace without dialogue between the government of the DRC and armed groups, including the M23,” the U.S. said.
Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, however, has refused to hold direct talks with the M23, considering them terrorists.
