Rwanda says does not fear isolation over war in east DRC

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Geneva, Switzerland | AFP

Rwanda's foreign minister said Wednesday the country did not fear becoming increasingly isolated over the war in eastern DR Congo, insisting it would not be swayed from defending its borders.

The Rwanda-backed M23 has in recent weeks seized two major cities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, giving the armed group a major foothold in the region since taking up arms again in late 2021.

Britain said Tuesday it was suspending most direct bilateral aid to Rwanda, while the United States last week unveiled sanctions against a Rwandan government minister.

"Any talks about punitive measures and sanctions against Rwanda cannot sway us from protecting our borders and our population," Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told the UN correspondents' association ACANU.

"Rwanda doesn't fear to be isolated. We are facing an existential threat against our country from a genocidal force.

"So talking about being diplomatically isolated really is not a concern for the time being."

Nduhungirehe was in Geneva to address the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In his speech to the top UN rights body, he said that in the Great Lakes region, "the cancer of violent ethnic extremism and genocide ideology has once again re-emerged".

In eastern DRC, "hate speech, persecution, lynching, and even acts of cannibalism against Congolese Tutsi have become distressingly commonplace".

He urged the council to take "immediate and decisive action to halt these persecutions. The suffering of these people cannot be tolerated any longer."

Asked by journalists to elaborate, he said there were "several cases of lynching and cannibalism in eastern DRC that you can find on social media".

A boy looks on while standing at a pirogue dock on the shores of Lake Kivu in Bukavu on February 21, 2025, as around 42,000 people have fled the conflict raging in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and crossed into Burundi in the past two weeks, the United Nations said today. (AFP)

Regional concerns

UN chief Antonio Guterres, warned the council on Monday that "as more cities fall, the risk of a regional war rises".

Nduhungirehe told reporters: "If there is good will, we don't fear any regional war, especially as now on the ground there is a de facto ceasefire: there is no more fighting.

"This concern is now going away" due to peace efforts by two African regional blocs, he said.

However, he added, "We are living this crisis for the past 30 years... it's really now or never to ensure that the security concerns of Rwanda and all countries of the region are addressed, so we can reap the economic dividends of peace."

Members of the Congolese Red Cross carry body bags containing the remains of victims of the recent clashes in Bukavu on February 20, 2025 ahead of their burial. (AFP)

The DRC's prime minister said Monday that "more than 7,000" people have been killed in the east of the country since January -- and more than 3,000 people had been killed in Goma alone.

Nduhungirehe said claims that 3,000 civilians were killed in fighting in Goma were "not true".

"The people who were killed were on the battlefield, mainly the Congolese army" and their allies," he said.

The minister said addressing the root causes of the conflict was the only way to secure a lasting peace in the region.