US cuts military aid to Rwanda over alleged support for Congo rebels
By Associated Press, Updated: Saturday, July 21, 1:40 PMAP
JOHANNESBURG The U.S. government said Saturday it has cut this years
planned military assistance to Rwanda amid concerns that the government in
Kigali is supporting rebel movements in neighboring Congo.
The United States has been actively engaged at the highest levels to urge
Rwanda to halt and prevent the provision of such support, which threatens to
undermine stability in the region, State Department spokesman Darby
Holladay said in an emailed statement.
Rwanda has denied reports by the United Nations and rights groups that it is
supporting the so-called M23 rebel movement in East Congo, which has sparked
new fighting in the area that has forced more than 200,000 civilians from
their homes since April.
The United States government is deeply concerned about the evidence that
Rwanda is implicated in the provision of support to Congolese rebel groups,
including M23, the statement said.
The U.S. usually a staunch Rwandan ally therefore cuts $200,000 of
initially pledged military aid for a training academy, reallocating the
funds to another country instead, the State Department said.
While the actual the amount of money being withheld is small, the move
appears to be a clear snub at the government in Kigali, reflecting
Washingtons concerns over the recent instability in eastern Congo.
Restraint, dialogue, and respect for each others sovereignty offer the
best opportunity for Rwanda and Congo to resume the difficult work of
bringing peace and security to the broader region, it said.
Washingtons move follows last weeks statement by the U.N. Security
Council, condemning all outside support to armed groups in Congo and
demanding that such backing cease immediately.
The leaders of Congo and Rwanda earlier this month agreed in principle to
back a neutral international armed force to combat Congos newest rebellion
and other fighters terrorizing civilians in the countrys mineral-rich east,
and the African Union said it could help by sending soldiers. Details,
however, have remained sketchy.
Congo already has the worlds largest peacekeeping force of nearly 20,000
U.N. soldiers and police that cost nearly $1.5 billion in 2011. Congos army
ill-equipped, ill-paid and demoralized is accused of pillaging and rape
of civilians as often as are the rebels and militias, putting U.N.
peacekeepers in an invidious position.
East Congos conflict is a hangover from Rwandas 1994 genocide. Hundreds
who participated in the killings of some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus
escaped into Congo and still fight there today. The M23 rebels are the
latest incarnation of a group of Congolese Tutsi rebels set up to fight
Rwandan Hutu rebels in Congo.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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