Congolese President Felix Cissekendi said on Sunday that he had “no doubt” about Rwanda’s support for a rebel movement “attacking” his country, but reiterated his desire for the two neighboring countries to maintain peaceful relations.
The new crisis in bilateral relations, caused by the resurgence in the eastern part of the country of the Tuci M23 (“March 23 Movement”) guerrilla group, has occupied the talks between Mr. Cissekendi and the President of neighboring Congo Denso Sasso. at the stronghold of the latter in Ogio, about 400 miles north of Brazzaville.
Kinshasa accuses Kigali of backing the M23, which has been embroiled in fierce fighting with the DRC army in late May. Rwanda denies this, but in retaliation, Kinshasa suspended flights to its territory operated by RwandAir, while summoning the country’s ambassador to the Foreign Ministry, to give him a “very strict warning”.
President Cissekedi had not yet publicly spoken out about the crisis.
“I have always insisted that you should build bridges rather than build walls,” the Congolese leader told Congolese public radio. “Unfortunately, today we are here where we are,” he added.
“The fact that we want peace, brotherhood and solidarity is not a weakness,” he said. “It does not give our neighbors the opportunity to come and challenge us.”
“I hope Rwanda has learned this lesson, because today it is clear, there is no doubt, Rwanda supports the M23 coming and attacking the DRC,” he added.
The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo recalled that the guerrillas had been defeated, “defeated” in 2013 by his country’s army and “their arsenal had been confiscated”.
The fact that their action was revived “means that they started somewhere, they were equipped by some”, he added.
For his part, Congolese President Sassu Ngeso said he was “confident” that the current crisis could be resolved. “I believe that we will overcome these difficulties quickly and restore peace through dialogue,” he said.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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