Rwanda-Backed Rebels Pull Out of Congo Talks Over EU Sanctions

(Bloomberg) — The M23 rebel group behind the latest flare up of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has pulled out of peace talks a day before they were due to start in Angola.

The Rwanda-backed militia’s decision followed European Union sanctions over three senior Rwandan military officials, five senior leaders of the M23, and a gold refinery announced earlier on Monday, as criticism grows of Kigali’s backing of the group that has seized two major Congolese cities.

Among the sanctioned senior military officials is Major-General Ruki Karusisi, who commands Rwandan special forces deployed in eastern Congo. The EU also penalized the head of Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board.

“Successive sanctions imposed on our members, including those enacted on the eve of the Luanda discussions, severely undermine direct dialogue and make any progress impossible,” M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said in a statement. “Our organization can no longer continue to participate in the discussions.”

Tuesday’s talks would have marked the first meeting between the Congolese government and the rebel movement that President Felix Tshisekedi has referred to as terrorists and refused to engage with. 

The EU’s penalties, which follow a similar move by the US last month, signal increasing international frustration with Rwanda’s support, training and arming of M23, which has swiftly seized vast swathes of territory in the mineral-rich region. The fighting has displaced nearly a million people and killed thousands more, and is now roiling diplomatic relationships. 

The Rwandan army’s “unauthorized presence in the DRC constitutes a violation of that country’s territorial integrity and sustains the armed conflict, instability and insecurity in the region,” the EU said in legislation adopted by foreign ministers in Brussels.

A spokesperson for the Rwandan government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but Rwanda has long denied US, EU and UN expert claims that it supports, arms, fights alongside and trains M23.

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Rwanda’s army “is also responsible for serious human rights abuses, including collective punishment, and sustains serious human rights abuses committed by members of M23,” the EU said.

The EU said that the Gasabo Gold Refinery in Kigali contributed to the “illegal extraction and trafficking of natural resources from eastern DRC,” adding that the facility has been “exploiting the armed conflict.”

The EU also sanctioned Francis Kamanzi, the chief executive officer of Rwanda’s mining and energy regulator, because minerals continue to be “trafficked to Rwanda for the benefit” of the M23 and Rwanda, “where these conflict minerals are mixed with Rwandan production.”

The sanctions came the day Rwanda severed diplomatic relations with Belgium, according to a statement posted on X by its foreign ministry. The Belgian government said last month a growing international consensus is emerging in favor of sanctions against Kigali over its role in the conflict in eastern Congo. 

Belgium will also declare Rwanda’s diplomats persona non grata, Maxime Prévot, deputy prime minister of the European nation said in a X post. 

“This is disproportionate and shows that when we disagree with Rwanda they prefer not to engage in dialogue,” Prévot said. 

Meanwhile, foreign ministers from the East African Community and Southern African Development Community, who met Monday, urged the blocs to “immediately lead processes for political engagement to facilitate the unconditional ceasefire of hostilities” in the Congo by March 31.  

–With assistance from Katharina Rosskopf, Matthew Hill and David Herbling.

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