Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
18-03-2025
KIGALI: Rwanda says it has cut diplomatic ties with Belgium and ordered all of the European 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” (DRC).
“The Government of Rwanda today notified the Government of Belgium of its decision to sever diplomatic relations, effective immediately,” it added.
In turn, Belgium said Rwandan diplomats were no longer welcome in the country.
“Belgium regrets the decision of Rwanda to cut off diplomatic relations with Belgium and to declare Belgium’s diplomats persona non grata,” Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on X.
“This is disproportionate and shows that when we disagree with Rwanda they prefer not to engage in dialogue.”
Rwanda’s move came a day after President Paul Kagame accused Belgium of advocating for international sanctions against his country over the conflict in eastern DRC.
The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group launched a large offensive in the mineral-rich east of the DRC earlier this year, taking two major cities in a lightning advance.
A UN report has said Kigali controls the group and has about 4,000 soldiers in the country. Kigali has denied involvement in the conflict and says it faces a threat from ethnic Hutu fighters in the DRC.
The Congolese government says at least 7,000 people have died amid the offensive and has called for international action.
Monday’s diplomatic tension emerged as DRC and the M23 rebels announced they would send delegations to peace talks, which are set to take place on Tuesday in Angola.
Meanwhile, The Southern African regional bloc has said it will conclude its troop deployment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), having decided on a “phased withdrawal”.
Leaders from the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) – which has lost at least a dozen soldiers in the eastern DRC since January – held a virtual summit on Thursday to discuss the ongoing conflict in an area that has seen three decades of unrest.
The meeting comes a day after Angola announced that peace talks between the DRC and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group would begin next week.
In a communique released after the summit, the group said DC’s mission in the DRC (also known as SAMIDRC) would be “terminated … and directed the commencement of a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops”.
M23 has seized swaths of the mineral-rich and volatile eastern DRC, including the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, in a lightning advance since January.
The Congolese government says at least 7,000 people have died since then.
While officials did not comment on the size of the military deployment, the bulk of SAMIDRC troops come from South Africa, which is estimated to have sent at least 1,000 soldiers.
South Africa lost 14 soldiers in the eastern DRC conflict in January. Most were part of the SADC mission, but at least two were deployed as part of a separate United Nations peacekeeping mission. Elsewhere, three Malawian troops in the SADC deployment were also killed. (Int’l News Desk)
