The Democratic Republic of Congo has accused Rwanda for more than a year of supporting rebels in eastern DRC.
US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken urged de-escalation during a Tuesday (August 16) call with the Rwandan president, whose country has strained relations with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last month, the Congolese army claimed to have repelled an incursion by Rwandan troops on its soil. Charges rejected by Kigali, also accused by Kinshasa of supporting rebels in eastern DRC.
Antony Blinken and I have a discussion «productivewith Rwandan President Paul Kagame regarding the “situation volatilewithout taking sides on the issue of the supposed Rwandan incursion, according to the State Department. The Secretary of State hasrelayed the American plea in favor of a diplomatic solution to the tensions between the two countriesand called on each party to “take steps to defuse the situation“, specifies the press release.
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Since the beginning of 2022, Kinshasa has accused Kigali of supporting the M23 rebellion (“March 23 Movement), a former mainly Tutsi rebellion which took up arms again at the end of 2021 and conquered vast territories in the east of the DRC, and to fight alongside it. UN experts have corroborated this support, condemned by several Western chancelleries. Kigali contests, accusing in return Kinshasa of collusion with the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), a Hutu movement formed by certain perpetrators of the genocide of Tutsis in 1994 in Rwanda.
2023-08-16 05:30:04
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