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Rwandan President Paul Kagame has alleged that the United States (US) is exerting “heavy pressure” on the country but treating the DR Congo “delicately”.
The US had, in March, announced sanctions against the Rwandan army over its support for the M23 anti-governmental group, which has seized swathes of the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2021.
In an interview with Jeune Afrique news outlet at the end of March, published on Friday, Kagame described the sanctions as “insults thrown in the face” of Rwanda.
“Sanctions and threats are nothing but insults thrown in the face of my country,” said Kagame. He also said the US should not give the” impression of exerting heavy pressure on one while treating the other delicately”.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has attempted to broker a deal between Rwanda and the DRC. Both countries signed a peace deal at Trump’s urging in December, in the latest attempt to end the conflict, but clashes have continued on the front.
According to Kagame, Rwanda was fulfilling “all its obligations under the agreements” signed in Washington, unlike the DRC, which, he said, “only very partially meets them or not at all”.
Africanews reported that the M23 rebels seized another major city, Uvira on the border with Burundi, days after the signing of the US-brokered peace deal.
The DRC claims Rwanda backs the M23 rebels, but it has consistently denied the allegation. Rwanda has insisted it is only involved in the eastern DRC to help protect against an enemy militia formed from the remnants of those involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of Tutsis.
“Don’t expect me to lift our defence measures while you are doing nothing to stop what threatens my country,” he added.
