Rwanda accused the US of acts of “realpolitik” amid a conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after Washington described Rwandan rebels based in Congo as a mere “armed group” named as a negative force by regional bodies.
Kigali was responding to a statement by the US State Department which on Saturday condemned Rwanda’s support for the M23 rebels fighting in eastern Congo and urged Kinshasa to cease cooperation with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an “armed group named as a ‘negative force’ by regional bodies and the government of the DRC.”
Rwanda regards the FDLR as a terrorist group whose elements are blamed for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group.
It was the US which in December 2001 added the FDLR to its Terrorist Exclusion List after the group murdered and in some cases raped eight Western tourists in Bwindi in Uganda, including two Americans, Rwanda’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Mediation question
“To characterize this genocidal and terrorist outfit merely as an armed group... is a shocking and cynical act of realpolitik which calls into question the ability of the United States to serve as a credible mediator in the Great Lakes region,” the ministry said on Sunday.
The US “condemned the worsening violence” in eastern Congo “caused by the actions of the Rwanda-backed, US- and UN-sanctioned M23 armed group.”
It called on Rwanda “to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the DRC and remove its surface-to-air missile systems,” saying it threatens the lives of c ivilians, the UN and other regional peacekeepers, humanitarian actors and commercial flights in eastern Congo.
Kigali, which consistently denies claims it supports M23 rebels, has accused DR Congo’s army of fighting alongside the FDLR.
Adjusting posture
Kigali has also accused Kinshasa of pursuing regime change in Rwanda.
Rwanda’s ministry statement came after DR Congo on Saturday accused the Rwandan army of carrying out a “drone attack” on the country’s airport in the eastern city of Goma which damaged civilian planes.
The foreign ministry said Rwanda has adjusted its posture following threats from DR Congo.
“This includes measures to ensure the complete air defense of Rwandan territory and to degrade offensive air capabilities following the introduction of advanced Chinese CH-4 attack drones by the DRC in 2023 and repeated violations of Rwandan airspace by Congolese fighter jets,” it said.
The Rwandan statement said ending Congolese state support for the FDLR and ensuring their demobilization and repatriation to Rwanda is “a non-negotiable requirement to protect Rwanda’s territorial integrity.”
Since the first week of this month, 15 civilians have been killed and 29 injured since fresh fighting erupted around Goma and Sake, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said last week.
Roughly 135,000 internally displaced persons have fled Sake to Goma.
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