The Rwandan government has strongly rebuffed Belgium, with which its diplomatic relations had already been tense, following a report accusing Rwanda of planning to annex part of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Belgian newspaper Le Soir broke the news, citing a UN experts’ report on the DRC that several media outlets have allegedly obtained.
According to Le Soir, and based on the UN report, contrary to the Washington peace accord with the M23 militia, “Rwanda and the Rwanda‑backed M23 militia are actively constructing a parallel authority [to Kinshasa] in eastern DRC.”
The newspaper reports that despite Rwanda’s pledge under the peace agreement to withdraw its troops from the DRC within three months, the UN experts’ report “shows that President Paul Kagame has pursued other objectives in that large region already occupied in recent months in collaboration with M23.”
The UN experts’ report also claims that “sources within the Rwandan military and government admit Kigali’s primary goal is to control territory and natural resources in the Congo.”
Belgian national Mélanie De Groof, the coordinator of the UN experts who draft annual reports on the situation in the DRC, is cited in the article.
The Rwandan report is often criticised by Kigali as a biased attempt to target it.
Responding to the new report, Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Community, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, pointed out that it was not surprising this accusation came from Belgians, whom he accused of trying to derail the ongoing peace process.
On his X page he wrote:
“A Belgian newspaper, a Belgian‑coordinated UN experts’ report of questionable credibility, and as usual the story is Belgian; everything is in place to try to derail the current peace process.”
Minister Nduhungirehe also seemed to criticize Belgium, suggesting that Belgians were the only ones entitled to lecture on colonial history and Congo’s territorial claims, having colonized it for over 75 years.
