Rwanda says it has cut diplomatic ties with Belgium and ordered all of their country’s diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours, drawing a swift response from Brussels.
In a statement on Monday, the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation accused Belgium of “consistently” undermining Kigali “during the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo”.
“Belgium has clearly taken sides in a regional conflict and continues to systematically mobilize against Rwanda in different forums,” Rwanda’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The European Union accused Rwandan officials of fueling the conflict through the presence of Rwandan troops in eastern Congo and the plundering of Congo’s mineral resources. The sanctions were Europe’s first steps toward increasing pressure on Rwanda, though so far it has maintained close cooperation on security and strategic minerals.
The United States, the European Union and the United Nations say Rwanda has been funding, supporting and commanding an armed rebel group, M23, that has fought government forces in eastern Congo for more than a decade and launched a new offensive there in January.
The latest wave of violence has killed thousands and displaced more than 500,000 people since the beginning of the year, according to the U.N.’s refugee agency.
Despite widespread evidence shared by U.N. experts and independent researchers that thousands of Rwandan troops are deployed in Congo and that Rwanda supplies weapons to M23, Rwanda has denied backing M23.
