France said on Tuesday it was “very concerned” about the situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and called on Rwanda to cease its support for the M23 rebel group which has recently stepped up its offensive. The East African reports
Rwanda denies backing the M23 rebels, although the US, DR Congo, and a UN group of experts have said that it funds and fights alongside the group.
Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday Rwanda considers DRC war ‘serious’ national security threat .
“France condemns the continuation of the M23 offensives with the support of Rwanda, and the presence of Rwandan forces on Congolese territory,” France said in a government statement, adding to growing international pressure on Rwanda.
“We call on Rwanda to cease all support for the M23 and to withdraw from Congolese territory,” it said, reiterating its support for a regional mediation process to put an end to the conflict.
Officially, Kigali repeated its past allegation that Kinshasa was working in concert with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan ethnic militia which is directly linked to the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994.
The Rwandan authorities claim that “the FDLR have been integrated into the Congolese army” anyway and argue that Congolese authorities are not protecting the Tutsi communities in the DRC, who are, according to Rwanda, “victims of hate speech and discrimination.”
Rwanda’s response is that “the M23 issue must be resolved politically amongst Congolese”.
“It will not be accepted for the problem to be externalised into Rwanda, by force, once again”, added the Rwandan statement.
