Rwanda accuses DRC, Burundi of ‘violations’ days after peace deal

DR Congo and Rwanda on a map | Al Jazeerah

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Rwanda accused the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi on Wednesday of deliberately violating a ceasefire in eastern DRC, days after the signing of a peace agreement in Washington.

Rwandan-backed M23 fighters entered the strategic city of Uvira, near the Burundian border, late Tuesday, as it became the latest major settlement to fall in the mineral-rich region that has been plagued by decades of conflict.

Thousands of civilians and scores of Congolese soldiers have fled across the border into Burundi, which has sent troops to help the DRC fight the Kigali-backed M23 and its Rwandan allies, according to military sources.

In a statement on X, the Rwandan foreign ministry said recent violations “cannot be placed on Rwanda”.

It said, “The Congolese Army (FARDC) and the Burundian Army (FDNB)… had been systematically bombing civilian villages close to the Rwandan border, using fighter jets and attack drones, and which the AFC/M23 has said it has been forced to counter.

“These deliberate violations of recently negotiated agreements constitute serious obstacles to peace,” the statement said.

The renewed violence undermines an agreement aimed at ending the conflict brokered by US President Donald Trump and which Kinshasa and Kigali signed less than a week ago, on December 4.

The United States and several European countries urged the M23 and Kigali in a joint statement on Tuesday to immediately cease their ongoing offensive.

AFP

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