LONDON - The US and EU are urging Rwanda to stop support for rebels committing atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after a UN report cited “evidence of direct interventions” by Kigali’s armed forces in its mineral-rich neighbour, according to the Financial Times.
The report, submitted to the UN Security Council, further raises pressure on Paul Kagame, the Rwandan president, a longstanding western ally whose government last year struck a controversial deal to accept asylum seekers who arrive in Britain illegally. At issue is Rwanda’s alleged support for M23, a group that resurfaced in 2021 to wage an offensive in the conflict-ridden eastern DRC.
The M23, which the US, EU and DRC say is backed by Kigali, has been accused of mass killings and the rape of civilians.
Almost 1 million people have been displaced by violence since the M23’s resurgence, the International Organization for Migration said in April. The report by a UN group of experts found evidence of “direct interventions” by the Rwandan military on DRC territory, either to reinforce M23 combatants or to conduct military operations against opposing armed Hutu groups, such as the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda.
