The Democratic Republic of Congo's foreign minister on Friday accused Rwanda of illegally occupying part of its territory, after the M23 rebel group captured the eastern Congolese city of Goma.
Rwanda is illegally occupying the Democratic Republic of Congo and attempting to orchestrate regime change, the country's foreign minister has told the BBC. Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner said this followed decades of impunity and failure to hold Rwandan President Paul Kagame accountable for violating international law.
In 2012, when M23 rebels appeared poised to seize control of a major city in eastern Congo, western countries suspended aid to put pressure on Rwanda to withdraw its support.
Kenyan President William Ruto, the East African Community (EAC) chair, convened a virtual summit on 29 January to discuss the worsening security situation – which Tshisekedi skipped. In his absence, the summit “strongly urged” him to engage directly in talks with the M23.
As the rebels gained the upper hand in the battlefield by capturing most of Goma - the biggest city in the east - South Africa fired a diplomatic salvo, warning that further attac
Vladimir Putin grabbed Donbas, an eastern region of Ukraine, and pretended he had not. As a figleaf he used local separatist forces, which Russia armed, supplied and directed. These forces, he claimed,
A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.
The United Nations expressed deep concern at reports of M23 rebels and Rwandan troops advancing south towards the Congolese city of Bukavu on Thursday, as the militants sought also to assert their control over east Congo's largest city Goma.
The Rwandan-backed armed group M23 moved south as it closed in on a key military airport in DR Congo on Friday, a day after pledging to take the capital Kinshasa and as international criticism mounted.
France's foreign minister was due in Rwanda on Thursday after talks in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of efforts to prevent a regional escalation following the capture of the eastern Congolese city of Goma by M23 rebels and Rwandan troops.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has warned Rwanda that its involvement in an escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo could jeopardise the over $1 billion of aid it receives every year.