Rwanda claims it will no longer welcome DR Congo refugees

Rising tensions between the central African neighbors are stoked by Rwanda’s declaration that it can no longer provide asylum to those escaping conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Federal troops and the M23 rebel group, which has taken large portions of the eastern DRC, are engaged in ongoing battle.

Although Kigali disputes the claim, the DRC, along with the US and several other European nations, has consistently accused Rwanda of supporting the Tutsi-led rebels from M23.

President Paul Kagame warned the upper house of parliament in the capital Kigali on Monday that “we cannot keep hosting refugees” from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Rwanda is not the issue here. Additionally, we’ll make sure that everyone understands that the issue is not unique to Rwanda.

I’m refusing to let Rwanda bear this weight.

Due to the conflict, tensions have risen, and hundreds have fled the fighting into neighboring countries like Rwanda.

The UN estimated that 72,000 Congolese refugees had entered Rwanda as of November.

Kinshasa has been held responsible for the crisis, according to Kigali, and the international community has been accused of turning a blind eye to the DRC’s alleged support for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group made up primarily of Rwandan Hutu who were responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

As a result of the FDLR, Kigali defends its incursions into the DRC.

Rwanda has also charged the DRC with faking a massacre in November that killed at least 131 civilians and manipulating the war for political gain in the country where presidential elections are scheduled for this December. A UN investigation determined that M23 militants were to accountable for the deaths.