{"id":115149,"date":"2025-05-16T15:03:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T15:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/rwanda-dismisses-kinshasas-misplaced-accusations-of-distabilization-in-goma\/"},"modified":"2025-05-16T15:03:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T15:03:29","slug":"rwanda-dismisses-kinshasas-misplaced-accusations-of-distabilization-in-goma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/rwanda-dismisses-kinshasas-misplaced-accusations-of-distabilization-in-goma\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda dismisses Kinshasa\u2019s \u2018misplaced\u2019 accusations of distabilization in Goma"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 16 \u2014 Rwanda has strongly rejected renewed accusations by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that it is fueling unrest in eastern Congo, dismissing the claims as \u201cmisplaced\u201d and a distraction from what it terms Kinshasa\u2019s internal governance failures.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The response comes after Congolese Foreign Minister Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Kayikwamba Wagner accused Rwanda of violating Congolese sovereignty and supporting violence against United Nations peacekeepers in the conflict-ridden region. <\/p>\n

Wagner made the remarks during an interview with Germany\u2019s Deutsche Welle earlier this week, asserting that Rwanda continues to undermine peace efforts despite being a major contributor to international peacekeeping missions.<\/p>\n

In a rebuttal, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo accused the Congolese government of destabilizing its own country by supporting armed groups and breaching peace agreements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Congolese Foreign Minister\u2019s outrage is misplaced and cannot mask the Congolese government\u2019s failure to protect its own citizens \u2014 not against Rwanda, but against the Congolese state itself,\u201d said Makolo.<\/p>\n

She rejected what she described as a \u201cfalse narrative\u201d blaming Rwanda for the spiraling violence in eastern DRC, instead pointing to Congolese armed groups and their allies as the primary perpetrators of violence against civilians.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is really killing? The victims are Congolese, as are the perpetrators. It is not Rwandans who are killing in Beni, Ituri, Kwamputh, Goma, Minembwe, or Uvira, but Congolese armed groups \u2014 the VDP\/Wazalendo and their allies, the FARDC\/FDLR \u2014 supported and financed by the DRC government,\u201d she asserted.<\/p>\n

Eastern Congo bombings<\/h2>\n

Makolo also denied allegations that Rwandan forces were behind bombings in eastern Congo, accusing the Congolese army of indiscriminately targeting civilians, including Banyamulenge communities and areas near the Rwandan border.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no Rwandan bombs. The Congolese army is indiscriminately bombing civilians \u2014 even across the border into Rwandan territory. Who is bombing Minembwe? The FARDC and VDP\/Wazalendo, targeting the Banyamulenge \u2014 the Congolese people it refuses to name,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Makolo further accused the DRC government of reneging on multiple peace accords signed in Nairobi, Luanda, and Addis Ababa, saying Kinshasa has consistently failed to honor its commitments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is violating the peace agreements? The Congolese government. At every stage, it is the DRC that is sabotaging peace efforts \u2014 by refusing dialogue and recruiting foreign mercenaries,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Undermining peace<\/h2>\n

In her interview, Kayikwamba Wagner maintained that Rwanda is undermining peace processes and contributing to violence against UN forces from the MONUSCO mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very large peacekeeping mission, but one of our neighboring countries \u2014 namely Rwanda \u2014 is among the biggest contributors to peacekeeping operations. Yet, at the same time, this country violates our territorial integrity and has been linked to violence against peacekeepers,\u201d Wagner said.<\/p>\n

Asked whether the DRC acknowledges Rwanda\u2019s stated security concerns, Wagner was unequivocal.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre the tens of thousands of people who have died Congolese or Rwandan? They are Congolese. Are the women who have been raped Congolese or Rwandan? They are Congolese,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Despite the escalating rhetoric, diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict are ongoing. <\/p>\n

According to Reuters, the United States is awaiting formal feedback from both Kigali and Kinshasa on a proposed peace agreement intended to bring an end to the long-running violence in eastern Congo.<\/p>\n

Massad Boulos, a senior adviser on African affairs at the US State Department, said Washington has been in direct contact with both Presidents Paul Kagame and F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, who were involved in shaping the draft accord.<\/p>\n

The negotiations come amid heightened international concern that the conflict \u2014 driven by decades of mistrust, ethnic tensions, and regional insurgencies \u2014 could expand into a full-blown regional war.<\/p>\n

While the DRC continues to accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group and violating its sovereignty, Kigali insists that Kinshasa is backing the FDLR, a militia composed of remnants of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide.<\/p>\n

Rwanda has also cited past inflammatory statements by President Tshisekedi, including his public call to \u201cchange the regime in Kigali,\u201d which Kigali views as a direct threat to its sovereignty and regional stability.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 16 \u2014 Rwanda has strongly rejected renewed accusations by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that it is fueling unrest in eastern Congo, dismissing the claims as \u201cmisplaced\u201d and a distraction from what it terms Kinshasa\u2019s internal governance failures. The response comes after Congolese Foreign Minister Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Kayikwamba Wagner accused Rwanda of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}