•US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Top US diplomat Marco Rubio said yesterday that Rwanda had clearly violated a peace agreement signed with US President Donald Trump.
He also vowed unspecified “action” in response, after Rwandan-backed forces advanced in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, reports AFP.
“Rwanda’s actions in eastern DRC are a clear violation of the Washington Accords signed by President Trump, and the United States will take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept,” Rubio wrote on X.
The capture of Uvira, along the border with Burundi, has raised fears of the conflict breaking out into a regional war.
Part of an offensive launched at the beginning of December in South Kivu province, the armed group’s takeover follows its capture earlier this year of Goma and Bukavu, other major cities in the DRC’s mineral-rich east.
Trump had frequently touted the DRC conflict as one of several wars he helped end since returning to the White House.
On Friday, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz accused Rwanda of “leading the region toward more instability and toward war”.
“The Rwandan defence forces have provided material, logistics and training support to M23 as well as fighting alongside M23 in DRC with roughly 5,000 to 7,000 troops,” not including possible reinforcements during the latest offensive, Waltz told the UN Security Council.
The Rwandan firepower has included surface-to-air missiles, drones, and artillery, he added.
Since taking up arms again in 2021, the M23 has seized swathes of territory, displacing tens of thousands and leading to a spiraling humanitarian crisis.
Earlier this month, UN experts said Rwanda’s army and the M23 had carried out summary executions and forced mass displacements of people in the region.
