Latest news with #M23Rebels
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rwanda quits Central African bloc in dispute with Congo
KIGALI (Reuters) -Rwanda has said it would withdraw from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), underscoring diplomatic tensions in the region over an offensive this year by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Kigali had expected to assume the chairmanship of the 11-member bloc at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea. Instead, the bloc kept Equatorial Guinea in the role, which Rwanda's foreign ministry denounced as a violation of its rights. Rwanda, in a statement, condemned Congo's "instrumentalization" of the bloc and saw "no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles." It wasn't clear if Rwanda's exit from the bloc would take immediate effect. The office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said in a statement that ECCAS members had "acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil." M23 seized eastern Congo's two largest cities earlier this year, with the advance leaving thousands dead and raising concerns of an all-out regional war. African leaders along with Washington and Doha have been trying to broker a peace deal. Congo, the U.N. and Western powers accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 by sending troops and weapons. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces were acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed around 1 million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration hopes to strike a peace accord between Congo and Rwanda that would also facilitate billions in Western investment in the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium. ECCAS was established in the 1980s to foster cooperation in areas like security and economic affairs among its member states.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Rwanda quits Central African bloc in dispute with Congo
KIGALI, June 8 (Reuters) - Rwanda has said it would withdraw from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), underscoring diplomatic tensions in the region over an offensive this year by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Kigali had expected to assume the chairmanship of the 11-member bloc at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea. Instead, the bloc kept Equatorial Guinea in the role, which Rwanda's foreign ministry denounced as a violation of its rights. Rwanda, in a statement, condemned Congo's "instrumentalization" of the bloc and saw "no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles." It wasn't clear if Rwanda's exit from the bloc would take immediate effect. The office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said in a statement that ECCAS members had "acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil." M23 seized eastern Congo's two largest cities earlier this year, with the advance leaving thousands dead and raising concerns of an all-out regional war. African leaders along with Washington and Doha have been trying to broker a peace deal. Congo, the U.N. and Western powers accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 by sending troops and weapons. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces were acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed around 1 million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration hopes to strike a peace accord between Congo and Rwanda that would also facilitate billions in Western investment in the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium. ECCAS was established in the 1980s to foster cooperation in areas like security and economic affairs among its member states.
Zawya
16-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
RwandAir abandons West Africa routes for Mombasa, Zanzibar
Rwanda's national carrier has been forced to abandon three of its West African routes due to the cost of operating them following a ban by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from using its airspace. RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo, while addressing the press in Kigali, termed the DRC airspace blockade for Rwanda a 'very unfortunate' politicisation of aviation.'We had to suspend some of our routes, like Brazzaville, Abuja and Cotonou because the flight time became a bit long, but we are putting that capacity more on the Eastern and Southern routes in terms of additional frequencies,' she said. Read: DRC airspace ban will be costly for RwandAir, experts say'And we are looking at opening new routes. The first ones that are coming are Mombasa and Zanzibar. Until the issue is resolved, we shall focus more on the Eastern and Southern parts of the continent.'The airspace ban was imposed in February 2025, targeting Rwandan civil and state aircraft, citing 'a situation of insecurity due to armed conflict,' two weeks after the M23 rebels captured Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, in a bloody offensive that left more than 3,000 people dead. Although the total financial cost of the airspace ban is yet to be quantified, it goes without saying that closing such crucial West African routes has exposed RwandAir to losses. The delayed conclusion of the share acquisition deal between RwandAir and Qatar Airways has also derailed the airline's growth plan and exposed it to inefficiencies. The deal, announced in 2020, allows Qatar Airways to buy up to 49 percent of stake in RwandAir and a 60 percent stake in the soon-to-be completed Bugesera Airport. But, the negotiations have dragged on, and five years down, the deal is yet to be concluded.'The Qatar Airways partnership is still in progress, we were hoping to have it signed about a month ago, but it's still a work in progress,' Ms Makolo said. 'It's a bit complicated -- when you are doing this with an operating airline, there is a lot of due diligence that goes into it. But we are still confident that we shall see the conclusion of it, I am looking forward to it in the coming months.'Under the deal, RwandAir had expected additional aircraft to bolster its fleet. But, five years later, it still has 12 passenger planes, which is too few to match its ambitions. Passengers have been complaining about flight cancellations, particularly on long-haul routes such as Brussels and London, as the airline grapples with its limited fleet. Read: RwandAir to launch daily flights to LondonMs Makolo said that Rwandair had had to shelve plans for a direct flight to the US, which had been in the cards before Covid-19 disrupted the aviation industry.'But we are able to access up to five US cities through a codeshare partnership with Qatar Airways. We connect our passengers via Doha to the US. We are still looking to see if a direct flight to the US is feasible down the road,' she said. For years, the airline has been riding on financial injection from government. According to government data, between 2013 and 2016, RwandAir incurred accumulated losses of $222 million, while receiving $192 million in government grants. The Rwanda Fiscal Risk Statement (FRS) report shows that for the financial year 2024/25, RwandAir recorded an 82 percent increase in total revenues, rising to Rwf620.6 billion ($430 million) in 2023, from Rwf341 billion ($236.23 million) in 2022. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Rwanda's army and its rebel group ally have killed dozens and abducted thousands, Congo says
Congolese authorities have accused Rwanda 's army and the M23 rebel group it backs of murdering dozens, kidnapping thousands more and committing rape, torture and looting in the war-torn country's east. The alleged crimes were committed between May 10 and 13 against civilians accused by the rebels of belonging to the Congolese army and its allied militias, Congo's interior ministry said in a statement Wednesday. 'The toll includes 107 murders, more than 4,000 men and boys abducted and forcibly loaded onto trucks to an unknown destination, hundreds of cases of summary executions, rape, torture, looting, restrictions on freedom of movement, as well as incursions into health facilities,' the statement read. The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify the reports. Spokespersons for Rwanda's military and the M23 rebels did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January, when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by the takeover of the city of Bukavu in February. The fighting has killed some 3,000 people and raised fears of a wider regional war. Congo's accusation comes days after M23 presented hundreds of captured men at a stadium in Goma. The group said the captives were Congolese army or members of its allied militias whom Congo armed to foment conflict in order to blame it on M23. M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo's capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west. The fighting in Congo is linked to Rwanda's decadeslong ethnic conflict. M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis in Congo. Rwanda has claimed the Tutsis are being persecuted by Hutus and former militias responsible for the 1994 genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and others in Rwanda. Many Hutus fled to Congo after the genocide and founded the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militia group. Rwanda says the militia group is 'fully integrated' into the Congolese military, which denies it. ————- Banchereau reported from Dakar
