As diplomatic strains increase between Rwanda and its neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Netherlands announced that it will suspend its $6.1 million aid to Rwanda over its help in attempting to oust the current DRC ruling regime.
Rwanda’s foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, expressed regret on Friday at “hasty decisions based on flimsy evidence” by donors suspending or deferring aid. The US has also cut $200,000 in military aid after the UN presented evidence that Rwanda is supporting Congolese rebels.
Rwanda and the DRC have been organizing joint military operations over the past three years in Kivu which borders Rwanda; however, the countries’ relations are strained as reports have confirmed Rwanda’s financial support to a DRC anti-government militia.
Tensions flared when DRC’s national army (FARDC) senior officer General Bosco Ntaganda defected taking 300-600 soldiers over poor wages. In May Col. Sultani Makenga, the second highest ranking officer behind Ntaganda, followed suit with the leaders rumored to partner to destabilize the region.
Ntaganda and Makenga are former members of a Tutsi-led and Rwanda-backed militia, the Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP). The group is said to have infiltrated the FARDC and are now known as the M23 Movement including various leaders wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) like Col. Baudouin Ngaruye who is expected to be involved in the 2009 Shalio massacre that killed 139 people.
M23 is demanding that the current DRC government step down and accuses President Joseph Kabila of fraud, and the group’s strategy seems to lie in secession efforts of the Kivus. Reports from Human Rights Watch as well as findings from a UN investigation indicate high-level support for the DRC rebellion with the Rwandan army providing military equipment, weapons, ammunition, and general supplies. Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s Defense Minister James Kararebe, Chief of Defense Staff Charles Kayonga, and military advisor Charles Kayonga are said to be directly involved. Rwanda denies the allegations, but should the reports prove true, a conflict could be on the horizon between the two countries.
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