Rwanda will not accept any more refugees from DR Congo

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has said they can no longer offer refuge to people fleeing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, stoking already high tensions between the two neighbours……

Tensions have soared and thousands have fled the battles in Dr congo into neighbouring states, including Rwanda.
In November, the UN said around 72,000 Congolese had crossed into Rwanda.

While addressing the upper house of parliament in the capital Kigali, president Kagame said they cannot keep hosting refugees and that it is not Rwanda’s problem.

“This is not Rwanda’s problem. And we are going to ensure that everybody realises that it is not Rwanda’s problem,” he vowed.

“I am refusing that Rwanda should carry this burden and be insulted and abused everyday about it,” he said.

Kigali has repeatedly blamed Kinshasa for the crisis and accused the international community of turning a blind eye to DR Congo’s alleged support for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a mainly Rwandan rebel movement implicated in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis.

Rwanda has also accused the DRc of using the conflict for political purposes as well as of “fabricating” a November massacre of at least 131 civilians.