UN chief says DR Congo escalation must be avoided 'at all costs' on African Union visit

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed on Saturday that regional escalations of the conflict in Congo "must be avoided at all costs." "The Congolese people have been suffering yet again from a brutal cycle of violence and the fighting that is raging in South Kivu, as a result of the continuation of the M23 offensive, threatens to push the entire region over the precipice," he warned as he addressed leaders at the African Union summit in Ethiopia. "There is no military solution. The deadlock must end, the dialogue must begin, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected."