Rwandan President Paul Kagame has declared that Rwanda is prepared to go to war with the Democratic Republic of Congo if necessary. “We are ready to fight,” he said in an exclusive interview with France 24. “We are not afraid of anything.”
This comes after Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of orchestrating a genocide in Eastern DRC.
In response, Kagame accused Tshisekedi of fostering the return of a “genocide ideology” in eastern DR Congo aimed at Congolese Tutsis.
What Kagame said:
“What actually is taking place in eastern Congo should be understood even by the person who leads that country. He does seem to have a selective memory of what to call what is happening there,”
“To ignore that and to want to call it something else, somewhere else by somebody, I think you have to be missing something in your mind.” he said.
Kagame also declined to confirm the presence of Rwandan soldiers in the DRC, stressing the importance of addressing the underlying causes of regional tensions.
The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo has produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with over 100 armed groups fighting in the region, most for land and control of mines with valuable minerals.
Some are fighting to try to protect their communities. Many groups are accused of carrying out mass killings, rapes, and other human rights violations.
The violence has displaced about 7 million people, including thousands living in temporary camps like the one that was attacked last month. Many others are beyond the reach of aid.
