Rwanda will not be drawn into intra- Congo conflict – Govt Spokesperson

The government has said that the latest fighting between the military and rebels in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo is a Congolese issue and that Rwanda has no intention of being drawn into a matter that is internal. This is according to Yolande Makolo, the Government Spokesperson ,as she responded to reports from the neighbouring country insinuating that Rwanda may be involved in the latest fighting between DR Congo and M23 rebel group in the eastern part of the country. Reports from DR Congo on Thursday quoted a minister alleging that M23 rebels could be getting support from Rwanda. This comes after reports of increasing tension and fighting between the DR Congo army (FARDC) and the M23 rebel group near the Rwandan border, as well as cross-border shelling of rockets on Rwandan territory earlier this week. The fighting between FARDC and M23 is an intra-Congolese conflict. The DRC foreign minister should explain why the FARDC fighting alongside FDLR/Interahamwe in their ranks shelled Rwandan territory on 19 March 2022 and again on 23 May 2022, government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told The New Times on Thursday, May 26. On May 23, rockets from the Congolese side of the border, injured several residents in at least two sectors in Musanze district. While it would be legitimate for Rwanda to respond to the repetitive attacks of FARDC on our territory, Rwanda is not involved in the ongoing fighting in Eastern DRC and has no intention of being drawn into an internal matter of the DRC. Makolo stressed that Rwanda wants to collaborate with neighbouring countries for a sustainable solution to insecurity in our region. This is why the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) requested urgent investigation by the regional Extended Joint Verification Mechanism of this week’s cross-border shelling in Musanze and Burera Districts. The blasts heard on Monday especially affected Kinigi and Nyange sectors of Musanze district and injured several civilians and damaged property. The RDF Spokesperson, Col Ronald Rwivanga said they had requested for an urgent investigation by the regional EJVM [Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism], and Rwandan authorities are also engaging their Congolese counterparts over the incident. The two sectors of Kinigi and Nyange, border the Volcanoes National Park, which also shares a border with DR Congo. An armed conflict involving the M23 rebel group reemerged in in past few months in eastern DR Congos North Kivu Province where the Congolese army, the UN peacekeeping forces (MONUSCO), and lately the FDLR, are reportedly battling the M23 rebels. MONUSCO and the M23 counter-accuse each other of provoking the attacks. The UN mission earlier said it deployed military helicopters to shell M23 fighters. Earlier, on Sunday, the M23 also said FDLR militia fighters were fighting alongside Congolese forces. It is unclear how the recent rise in tensions in eastern DR Congo will impact on peace process initiated by regional leaders in the past few months. Consultative discussions on peace and security in the DR Congo, or the inter-DR Congo peace dialogue, were held in April, in Nairobi, Kenya. Congolese armed groups engaged in consultations aimed at finding lasting solutions to the insecurity in their country’s volatile eastern region where more than 130 local and foreign armed militia groups have wreaked havoc for decades. The regional initiative is an outcome of the first and second East African Community (EAC) Heads of State conclaves on the peace and security situation in DR Congo under the chairmanship of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta held on April 8 and 21, respectively, at State House Nairobi. The first conclave was held on April 8, soon after Tshisekedi signed the Treaty of accession by his country to the EAC, making it the seventh member of the regional economic bloc. During the second conclave, Presidents Félix Tshisekedi of DR Congo, Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, Kenyatta and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and Rwanda’s foreign minister Dr Vincent Biruta, agreed to the deployment of a regional force to contain armed groups in DR Congo. Mid-way through the inter-Congolese dialogue, there were signs of optimism that the more than 30 Congolese armed groups participating were dedicated to finding a long-lasting solution. Rebel groups that participated included two factions of the M23 rebels; one led by one Jean-Marie Runiga and the other by Bertrand Bisimwa. The Bisimwa faction did not fully participate due to resumption of hostilities back home. Its delegates left Nairobi when skirmishes between its fighters and the Congolese army were reported in North Kivu Province but this did not halt the talks in Nairobi.

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Rwanda will not be drawn into intra- Congo conflict – Govt Spokesperson