Rebels have taken more towns in the mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo as the war of words between their Rwandan backers and South Africa heats up.
Rwanda’s involvement in the fighting has triggered an international response with the United States telling Kigali it is “deeply troubled” by the fall of Goma.
Germany has canceled aid talks with Rwanda, while Britain said the £32 million ($39.80 million) of annual bilateral assistance it gives was in doubt.
Several African countries have called for an immediate cease-fire and Angola is believed to be trying to broker a truce.
But Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has reacted angrily on social media to criticism of his country’s role in the fighting and has said he was prepared for a “confrontation” with South Africa if necessary.
At an emergency virtual summit of the East African Community (EAC), Kagame said: “Is there anybody among us who did not see this coming? I saw it coming because I did not see who was taking charge of the process.”
President Félix Tshisekedi, of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not attend the summit, but instead gave a speech in which he urged young people to join the army to fight M23.
Tshisekedi promised a “vigorous and coordinated response” to push back the rebels and urged young people to, “enlist massively in the army because you are the spearhead of our country.”
Thirteen South African soldiers belonging to a force from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been killed in the recent fighting.
Ramaphosa Accused Of ‘Lies’
But Kagame responded on X by saying he had spoken twice to Ramaphosa this week and added, “What has been said about these conversations in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies.”Kagame said the South African troops were not in a peacekeeping force, but were a “belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the DRC government fight against its own people, working alongside genocidal armed groups like FDLR [Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda] which target Rwanda, while also threatening to take the war to Rwanda itself.”
He also said, “And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.”
On Thursday, Kagame said on X he had a “productive conversation” with Angola’s President João Lourenço and “discussed the need for a long-term and sustainable solution to the ongoing situation” in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We also reaffirmed our commitment to working with others on the continent to find a solution,” he added.
Lourenço managed to broker a short-lived truce between M23 and the Tshisekedi’s government in 2022.
Hundreds of thousands of residents of Goma, a city of two million people close to the border with Rwanda, have been trying to get away from the fighting.
But Willy Ngoma, a spokesman for the M23 group, said, “Let the people of Goma be calm, peace is here.”
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said they were taking measures to protect civilians and U.N. staff.
Dujarric said there was a danger of law and order breaking down in Goma, “given the proliferation of weapons.”
