Kigali – Rwanda on Sunday “noted with regret” the decision by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to expel its ambassador as relations between the Central African neighbours worsened.
The authorities in Kinshasa on Saturday announced they were expelling the Rwandan envoy Vincent Karega as M23 rebels they accuse Kigali of supporting made fresh gains in the east of the troubled DRC.
“It is regrettable the Government of the DRC continues to scapegoat Rwanda to cover up and distract from their own governance and security failures,” Kigali said in a statement, adding that Rwandan forces at its border with DRC were on high alert.
The latest advance by rebel fighters prompted the UN peacekeeping mission there to increase its “troop alert level” and boost support for the army.
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DRC government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said that in recent days “a massive arrival of elements” from Rwanda “to support the M23 terrorists” against DRC’s troops had been observed.
But Rwanda denied backing the militia and accused its neighbour of military escalation.
“Of particular concern is the continued collusion between the Congolese armed forces with the FDLR, and their attempts to target the border area with heavy weaponry,” it said, referring to a Rwandan Hutu rebel group based in the DRC.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since the mass arrival in the eastern DRC of Rwandan Hutus accused of slaughtering Tutsis during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Kinshasa has regularly accused Rwanda of carrying out incursions into its territory, and of backing armed groups there. Kigali has denied involvement.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@NamuliImmy
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