UN chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the latest round of attacks by M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Numerous civilians, peacekeepers and a provincial governor have been killed in the past few days as fighting intensifies in eastern DRC.
The UN chief also called on Rwandan forces to withdraw from the DRC and halt alleged support for M23 fighters advancing on the key Congolese city of Goma.
Guterres "reiterates his strongest condemnation of the M23 armed group's ongoing offensive and advances towards Goma in North Kivu with the support of the Rwanda Defence Forces," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Sunday.
Lingering conflict
"He calls on the M23 to immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas. He further calls on the Rwanda Defence Forces to cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory," Dujarric said.
Rwanda has repeatedly denied claims that it backs the M23 rebels. Last week, Rwandan President Paul Kagame accused the UN peacekeeping mission, which has been operating for decades in DRC, of failing to tackle the conflict.
The UN chief had previously referred to a UN experts' report citing Kigali's backing of the M23 fighters, an anti-government group warring against the Congolese army in the east.
Parties' obligations
But he had not explicitly called on Rwandan forces to cease their support or withdraw from DRC territory.
"The Secretary-General reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law," the statement said Sunday.
"He recalls that attacks against United Nations personnel may constitute a war crime," said Dujarric, after three peacekeepers in eastern DRC have been killed in the last 48 hours.
The M23, also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, has tightened its grip surrounding Goma in violence that has forced some 230,000 to flee their homes.
Eastern DRC has vast mining resources and is a complex landscape of rival armed militias that has seen violence ebb and flow since the 1990s.
➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
