LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has warned Rwanda that its involvement in an escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo could jeopardise the over $1 billion of aid it receives every year.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured Goma, a city of 2 million people in the DRC, on Monday, ignoring widespread calls for them to halt their offensive and enact a ceasefire. They extended their advance on Wednesday.
Rwandan forces backed up M23 in Goma, according to Congo, the United States and other Western powers. Rwanda has denied its involvement.
British foreign minister David Lammy told parliament on Tuesday Rwanda received over 1 billion dollars in global aid every year, including around 32 million pounds ($39.80 million) of bilateral UK assistance but “all of that is under threat when you attack your neighbours”.
“We in this House are clear that we cannot have countries challenging the territorial integrity of other countries,” Lammy said. “Just as we will not tolerate it in the continent of Europe, we cannot tolerate it wherever in the world it happens.”
“We have to be clear about that,” Lammy added.
This week’s events represent the gravest escalation of the decades-old conflict in eastern Congo since 2012. The hostilities are rooted in the spillover of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide into Congo and the struggle for control of Congo’s lucrative minerals.
($1 = 0.8040 pounds)
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
