Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Says Will Retaliate If Attacked By Congo

Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vincent Biruta on Tuesday said Rwanda will retaliate if it suffers further attacks from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reported Reuters.

The Rwandan minister’s comments come amid a recent resurgence of attacks from the M23 rebel group that has strained relations between the two neighboring countries.

“If the attacks continue, Rwanda will have the right to respond and to protect the security of the country, to protect the security of its citizens, and we have means to do that,” Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said during a press conference in Kigali on Tuesday.

The minister also slammed the measures taken by the DRC government which included the suspension of flights by Rwanda’s flag carrier RwandAir and the summoning of Kigali’s ambassador.

The DRC government alleges that Kigali is supporting M23 rebels in carrying out a military offensive in its eastern borderlands. But, Rwanda denies the claims and has in turn accused the DRC army of fighting alongside the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group founded by ethnic Hutus who fled Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide.

Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister said FDLR fighters were among the ranks of the DRC army when their shells allegedly destroyed houses and injured people on the Rwandan side of the border.

The DRC and Rwanda have had a tumultuous relationship since the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The relationship improved a bit after DRC President Felix Tshisekedi took office in 2019 and last year, the neighbors signed three bilateral agreements to further enhance trade and diplomatic ties.

But Kinshasa has regularly accused Rwanda’s troops of carrying out incursions into its territory.

Last week, the DRC government had designated M23 a terrorist group and announced its exclusion from peace talks being held in Kenya with other militia groups active in eastern DRC.