🇷🇼🇺🇸🇨🇩 Rwanda rejects US calls for withdrawal of missiles, troops from eastern Congo

Authorities in Rwanda on Monday rejected U.S. calls for the withdrawal of troops and missile systems from eastern Congo, saying they are defending Rwandan territory as Congo carries out a "dramatic military build-up” near the border.

Rwanda's Foreign Ministry in a statement spoke of threats to Rwandan national security stemming from the presence in Congo of an armed group whose members include alleged perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.

The rebel group, known by its initials FDLR, “is fully integrated into" the Congolese army, the statement said.

#Rwanda #USA #DRC

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🇫🇷🇷🇼🇨🇩 France calls on Rwanda to cease support for rebels in eastern DR Congo

France said on Tuesday it was "very concerned" about the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and called on Rwanda to cease its support for the M23 rebel group which has recently stepped up its offensive.

"France condemns the continuation of the M23 offensives with the support of Rwanda, and the presence of Rwandan forces on Congolese territory," France said.

"We call on Rwanda to cease all support for the M23 and to withdraw from Congolese territory," it said, reiterating its support for a regional mediation process to put an end to the conflict.

#France #Rwanda #DRC

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🇷🇼🇺🇳🇨🇩 Rwanda envoy to UN: Solutions to DR Congo conflict lie in inclusive, constructive dialogue

The Rwandan envoy to the United Nations has urged the global body not to amplify allegations recurrently made by the Congolese government that Rwanda supports the M23 rebels in North Kivu Province.

While addressing the Security Council, Amb Ernest Rwamucyo reiterated Kigali’s stance that blame games offered no solution to the conflict in eastern DR Congo.

“Amplifying the false allegation of the DR Congo government, while never holding it accountable for allying itself with armed groups, which have committed and continued to commit serious human rights abuses against civilians, cannot lead to solutions,” Rwamucyo said.

"The solutions lie in inclusive and constructive dialogue meant to address the root causes of the conflict," he noted.

Rwanda accuses the Congolese armed forces, or FARDC, of integrating the FDLR, a militia directly linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

#Rwanda #UN #DRC

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🇨🇩🇷🇼🇪🇺 DR Congo's president accuses Rwanda of looting with EU support

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo said he was open to a dialogue with his Rwandan counterpart for peace but lashed out against an agreement recently signed between Rwanda and the European Union on mining.

“It’s a provocation in very bad taste,” said President Felix Tshisekedi.

Tshiseked alleged Rwanda was plundering Congo's mineral resources.

He criticized an agreement signed between the EU and Rwanda earlier this week linked to the strengthening of their cooperation in the mining sector, particularly with regard to critical raw materials such as tantalum.

Rwanda should not export wealth that it does not have, he said.

With the proceeds of these illicit sales, they will equip their armies and continue their ambitions in the Congo, he added.

#DRC #Rwanda #EU

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🇬🇧🇷🇼 UK to pay at least £370m to Rwanda for asylum deal

The UK will pay at least £370m to Rwanda as part of its plan to relocate asylum seekers there, the government's spending watchdog has revealed.

Up to £150,000 will also be paid for each person sent to the east African country over a five-year period.

Labour said the new figures in the report by the National Audit Office were a "national scandal".

However, the Home Office said: "Doing nothing is not without significant costs."

A spokesperson said: "Unless we act, the cost of housing asylum seekers is set to reach £11bn per year by 2026.

"Illegal migration costs lives and perpetuates human trafficking, and it is therefore right that we fund solutions to break this unsustainable cycle."

#UK #Rwanda

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🇬🇧🇷🇼 UK plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda suffers first parliamentary defeats

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered his first defeats over his legislation to send asylum seekers to Rwanda after the upper house of parliament demanded greater protections to be introduced before deportation flights can take off.

Under the Rwanda plan, which has yet to be carried out, asylum seekers who arrive on England's southern coast in small, inflatable boats would be sent to live in Rwanda, but so far no one has been deported because of ongoing legal challenges.

Sunak's government is passing legislation through parliament that would block further legal challenges by declaring Rwanda a so-called safe country for asylum seekers.

Sunak has said he wants the first deportation flights to leave in the next few months - ahead of a general election expected in the second half of this year - so he can meet a pledge to "stop the boats".

#UK #Rwanda

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🇷🇼🇨🇩 Kagame agrees to meet Tshisekedi over eastern DR Congo crisis

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has agreed to meet with his Democratic Republic of the Congo counterpart Felix Tshisekedi to discuss the ongoing crisis in eastern Congo, the Angolan government has said.

The agreement followed a meeting on Monday in Angola's capital Luanda between Kagame and Angolan President João Lourenço, the African Union's (AU) mediator, in the DR Congo crisis.

"It was decided that President Kagame would agree to meet President Tshisekedi on a date to be indicated by the mediator," Angola's Foreign Minister Tete Antonio told.

Antonio said that both Rwanda and the DR Congo had agreed to hold the meeting, with ministerial delegations from both sides working toward the plan.

#Rwanda #DRC

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🇬🇧🇷🇼 UK to pay asylum seekers £3,000 to move to Rwanda

Migrants whose asylum claims are rejected by the United Kingdom will be given £3,000 ($3,800) to move to Rwanda.

The UK has already has a plan in place which pays failed asylum seekers to return to their home countries.

But the new measure targets those who cannot return to their countries of origin, local press reported Tuesday.

The cash in exchange for moving to Rwanda is just another scheme in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plan to stop irregular migration.

It does not replace the plan to deport illegal arrivals to Rwanda, which has been blocked by courts over concerns about the east African country's safety.

To side step the court's concerns, the government introduced a bill which seeks to label Rwanda a safe country.

#UK #Rwanda

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🇷🇼 Rwandan opposition leader barred from election

A court in Rwanda has blocked efforts by popular opposition figure Victoire Ingabire to lift a ban on her running in July's presidential election.

She was freed in 2018 after spending eight years in prison for threatening state security and "belittling" the 1994 genocide.

In Rwanda, people who have been jailed for more than six months are barred from running in elections.

Ingabire said the court's ruling was politicised. "I don't agree with what the judge said, and unfortunately you can't appeal before two years. We are still far from a law-abiding country," she said.

Ingabire is an outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame, who has been the dominant force in the country for three decades.

#Rwanda

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