The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has urged the United Nations (UN) to impose sanctions on Rwanda, accusing it of declaring war by sending additional troops across the border to reinforce the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
Kinshasa claims that the fresh deployment of between 500 and 1,000 Rwandan soldiers has escalated the conflict, with the M23 intensifying its assault on Congolese forces defending the city. The DRC’s Foreign Minister, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, condemned the move as an “open and deliberate violation” of DRC sovereignty, labelling it a “declaration of war” and calling for targeted sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans on Rwandan officials.
The recent reinforcement of Rwandan troops follows the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two nations and the cancellation of peace talks between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi in December.
The M23 rebels, initially defeated in 2013, have regained momentum and are now approaching Goma, threatening the safety of over a million residents and displaced people.
In response to the worsening situation, the UN, the African Union, and the United States have called for an immediate ceasefire. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Rwanda to halt its support for the M23 rebels and called for their withdrawal from occupied areas in the DRC.
The UN has not previously named Rwanda as a direct party in the conflict, but a recent UN experts’ report accused Rwanda of using the M23 to gain access to DRC’s mineral resources, particularly gold, for its own benefit. In light of this, the DRC’s Kayikwamba has called for an export ban on minerals labelled as Rwandan.
The violence has also claimed the lives of several foreign peacekeepers, with at least 13 soldiers killed over the weekend, including nine South Africans, three Malawians, and one Uruguayan. The UN has begun evacuating non-essential staff from Goma due to the escalating violence.
