Browsing: M23 Rebels

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi (pictured), reassures investors through ANAPI, the DRC investment portal, the country is safe and open for business. The statement comes in the wake of a recent extraordinary summit of the EAC Heads of State that resolved for an immediate cease-fire by all parties. Photo/Reuters

DRC reassures investors while Rwanda remains critical of US statement

Countries
  • DRC, through its investment portal ANAPI reassures investors
  • Rwanda slams US statement saying it undermines regional peace process
  • EAC Heads of State order immediate cease fire in Rwanda-DRC conflict

Rwanda should stop supporting the rebel group and withdraw its soldiers from the DRC, the US State Department has said in an official statement.

This US call for Rwanda to ‘cease and desist’ aiding rebel groups and to also recall its troops from the DRC is the latest effort by the international community to intervene in the protracted dispute between the two countries.

The US says Rwanda’s alleged aid to rebel factions in the DRC is undermining the regional peace process.

The statement comes only days after the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State met in the Burundi capital of Bujumbura. The meeting was an Extra-Ordinary Summit held to evaluate the “Security Situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo …

When completed, the DRC's Inga hydropower dam will have the capacity to produce 40,000MW that is more than double the Three Gorges in China, the world's largest power station. Photo/ElectrictyHub

Can the EAC diffuse tension between Rwanda & DRC?

Industry and Trade
  • The DRC is viewed as a most promising member of the regional bloc offering a market of over 96 million people.
  • DRC is also rich in many coveted minerals such as cobalt and Nickel, gold, and diamonds, which has caused a long-standing conflict.
  • The EAC peace forces in the DRC were sent in early last year to restore peace and stability in the region.

The East Africa Community (EAC) has been touted as a model for regional economic blocs in Africa but the tension between Rwanda and the bloc’s newest member, DRC, is threatening to derail the region’s social and economic integration.   

The two neighboring countries have had a dicey relationship in the recent past with the largest country of the EAC, the DRC, accusing the smallest country in the region, Rwanda, of supporting rebels within its borders.

The DRC is viewed as a most promising member of the regional …