As Kinshasa recalled its acting ambassador from Kigali, tensions between the two countries further deteriorated with thousands joining in a recent wave of protests.
Thousands of people demonstrated in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), against what they claimed was Rwanda’s backing for the M23 rebels. As M23 has tightened their hold on the neighboring area, protests on Monday have taken place.
“We denounce the hypocrisy of the international community in the face of Rwanda’s aggression,” Mambo Kawaya, a civil society representative attending the demonstration, told newsmen.
The M23, a predominantly Congolese Tutsi militia, started fighting again in late 2021 after going years without engaging in hostilities. It accused the Congolese government of breaking a deal to incorporate its troops into the army.
Due to the group’s rebirth, regional ties in central Africa have become unstable. The DRC has accused its smaller neighbor Rwanda of supporting the rebel group.
For several weeks, there had been little fighting along the front line between the Congolese military and the M23, but beginning on October 20, the rebel group began to move throughout the province of North Kivu.
Recently, rebels took control of the towns of Kiwanja and Rutshuru, which are located along a vital road that leads to the provincial capital Goma, which is located near the Rwandan border.
The Rwandan ambassador, Vincent Karega, was given a 48-hour deadline to depart by the DRC government on Sunday. Rwanda declared that it had “regretted” the choice.
The interim charge d’affaires from Kigali has been called back, and the newly nominated ambassador to Rwanda has been instructed not to submit his credentials, according to a statement released by the DRC’s foreign ministry on Monday.
Accusing the DRC of raising tensions between the two nations, Rwanda said its border forces “stay on alert” on Sunday.
The rebel group originally gained notoriety in 2012 when it briefly took control of Goma before being driven out by a joint Congolese-United Nations operation.
It is one of numerous armed groups that prowl the eastern DRC, many of which are the result of two regional wars that broke out in the late 20th century.
According to the same article, the M23 intends to seize Goma, a significant commercial center with a population of about a million, in order to pressure the DRC government for political concessions.
On Monday, Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, tweeted that he had discussed de-escalating the situation with Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN.