The European Union has urged Rwanda to stop supporting the M23 rebel group, which has captured swaths of territory in North Kivu province in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The DRC — along with the United States and several European countries – has repeatedly accused its smaller Central African neighbor Rwanda of backing the M23, although Kigali denies the charge.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday said the European bloc had urged Rwanda to “stop supporting the M23 and use all means to press the M23 to comply with the decisions taken by the EAC [East African Community]” at a November summit in Angola.
Borrell’s comments came after a United Nations experts’ report on DRC indicated it had collected proof of “direct intervention” by Rwandan defence forces inside DRC territory between November 2021 and October 2022.
The report says Rwandan troops launched operations to reinforce the M23 against the mainly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – notably by supplying weapons, ammunition, and uniforms.
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