African state quits regional bloc over DR Congo dispute
Rwanda has announced its withdrawal from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) as tensions rise over its alleged role in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).
The move followed an ECCAS summit held on Saturday, during which Equatorial Guinea was retained as the bloc's chair. Rwanda had expected to assume the rotating leadership position.
Rwanda's Foreign Ministry said the 11-member bloc 'deliberately ignored' Kigali's right to the presidency in order to impose the DR Congo's diktat. The statement also condemned the 'instrumentalization' of ECCAS by the Congolese government.
'Rwanda denounces the violation of its rights as guaranteed by the constitutive texts of ECCAS. Consequently, Rwanda sees no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose,' the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Kigali said it had previously protested its exclusion from an ECCAS meeting in 2023, which was held in DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa. It criticized both the African Union and the ECCAS leadership for failing to uphold internal rules and procedures.
'The silence and inaction that followed confirm the organization's failure to enforce its own rules,' it stated.
Tensions between Kigali and Kinshasa have escalated since the M23 rebels intensified their offensive in DR Congo's eastern provinces earlier this year. The militants have seized major cities, including Goma and Bukavu, reportedly killing thousands of people.
Congolese authorities have long accused the Rwandan government of supporting the rebels with troops and weapons – a claim backed by a UN panel of experts. Kigali has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting its forces are only securing its borders.
The accusations have also strained Rwanda's relations with some of its Western partners, including its former colonial metropole, Belgium. In March, Kigali severed diplomatic ties with Brussels and ordered Belgian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours, accusing the country of harboring 'neo-colonial delusions' and interfering in the conflict in DR Congo's mineral-rich east.
On Saturday, the office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi issued a statement saying that ECCAS leaders had 'acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda' and called on the 'aggressor country' to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil.
'The summit recommended that Equatorial Guinea (outgoing) retain the leadership of the organization, to the detriment of Rwanda, until the resolution of its dispute with the DRC,' it stated.
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