On Monday, France joined the United States in accusing Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels, making the accusation public for the first time in Kigali, despite recent support for the country’s military offensives in Mozambique.
Anne-Claire Legendre, a spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry, said Paris wants the parties to respect the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes, regional efforts to seek a harmonious existence between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and the End of support for the rebels. groups as a first step for long-term peace in eastern DR Congo.
“We condemn Rwanda’s support for the M23 group and call for the Luanda and Nairobi processes to be fully implemented,” he said in a statement republished by the French embassy in Kinshasa.
This is the first time that France has openly condemned Rwanda for the M23 rebels. It is also the first time that France has publicly blamed Rwanda since their ties thawed nearly five years ago, following years of tensions over France’s alleged refusal to help rein in the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
However, France joined the US, which has repeatedly denounced the same Kigali support for the M23 rebels currently fighting with the Congolese army in North Kivu, eastern DRC.
‘Not Rwanda’s problem’
At the US-Africa summit, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi even thanked US President Joe Biden for the US condemnation of Rwanda’s support for the M23. To these accusations, the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, denied and replied that “the problem was not created by Rwanda and it is not a problem of Rwanda. It’s the Congo problem,” in a speech he delivered at an event on the sidelines of the Summit.
Both France and the US say Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the rebels must allow the implementation of the Luanda mini-summit resolutions.
On November 23, the leaders of the Great Lakes region and the East African Community met to find a solution between Rwanda and the DRC under the mediation of Angolan leader Joao Lorenco. The Luanda summit recommended the withdrawal of the M23 from the occupied territories, an “unconditional” ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities.
In Nairobi at the end of November, new peace talks resulted in a compromise between the DRC government and some 50 armed groups for the implementation of peace in the DRC.
The M23 did not participate in these peace talks. Since then, the leaders of this rebel movement have called for a direct dialogue with the Kinshasa authorities.
Respect the Luanda agreement
On December 12, the M23 rebels met with officers from the Congolese army, the UN mission in the Congo, members of the East Africa regional force and officials from the international conference on the Great Lakes region. The meeting did not result in peace talks, according to the Congolese army.
The M23 said it expected another such meeting. The Congolese army said no more such meetings are planned. According to the spokesman for the Congolese army, General Sylvain Ekenge, the objective of the meeting was to ask the rebels to respect the Luanda agreement.
Currently, the relative truce observed in North Kivu has given way to new fighting. According to the M23, it was the Congolese army that “broke the ceasefire by attacking the positions” of the rebels.
