The Congolese government has asked its new ambassador in Kigali to delay until further notice the diplomatic duties which includes presentation of letters of credence to Rwandan officials. The official beginning of diplomatic responsibilities is the presentation of such letters.
The interim chargé d’affaires at the Congolese embassy in Kigali has also been asked back “for consultation,” according to a statement from the Congolese foreign ministry.
The declaration was issued on Monday, shortly before Vincent Karega, the ousted Rwandan ambassador to Kinshasa, left the territory of the Congo. Rwanda stated that it noticed his removal “with sadness.” The Democratic Republic of the Congo accuses its neighbor of waging war via the M23 rebels.
Rwanda has long refuted the charge, claiming that the DR Congo military conspired with rebels from the Rwandan Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) stationed in the country’s east to attack Rwanda.
The FDLR was “decapitated” as a result of prior joint military operations by the DR Congo and Rwanda against the FDLR, President Félix Tshisekedi claimed in September at a UN general assembly meeting on behalf of the DR Congo.
According to him, Rwanda is using the claim as “an unsupported alibi” to “justify recurrent aggressions against the DRC.”
António Guterres, the UN secretary general, urged “the M23 and other armed groups to immediately cease hostilities and to disarm unconditionally” on Sunday.
The North Kivu province’s capital Goma is 70 kilometres away from the towns of Rutshuru and Kiwanja, which M23 overran over the weekend. Additionally, it has been occupying the Ugandan border town of Bunagana since June.