"Any talk of punitive measures and sanctions against Rwanda cannot dissuade us from protecting our borders and our people," Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told the United Nations Correspondents' Association (UNCAA), adding: "Rwanda is not afraid of being isolated; we are facing an existential threat from a genocidal force."
The M23, which is fighting the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), a country that borders Angola, recently captured two major cities in the east of that African country, Goma and Bukavu, in what was seen as a major victory for the group that resurfaced in 2021.
On Tuesday, Britain decided to "suspend" most of its financial aid to Rwanda, after the United States announced financial sanctions last week against former Defense Minister James Kabarebe, accused of "orchestrating support" for Rwandan troops for the M23.
"Diplomatic isolation is not really a concern," Olivier Nduhungirehe said in statements quoted by the French news agency, La France-Presse (AFP).
The leaders of the countries of southern and eastern Africa have appointed three former leaders of Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria as facilitators of a peace process in eastern DR Congo.
Uhuru Kenyatta, former President of Kenya, Olusegun Obasanjo, former head of state of Nigeria, and Hailemariam Desalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, have been appointed "facilitators of the peace process (...) in eastern DR Congo," the two blocs wrote in a joint press release issued on Monday evening.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) held a summit in early February, calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in eastern DR Congo, where conflict has intensified in recent weeks.
In an offensive, the M23 armed group, made up mainly of Tutsi victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and its Rwandan allies have taken control of Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces, and fighting has intensified.
The two blocs agreed at their summit in early February to merge the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes, which have been trying to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in recent years.
Since 1998, eastern DR Congo has been mired in conflict fuelled by rebel militias and the army, despite the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO).
The Congolese government accuses Kigali of supporting the M23, while Rwanda and the M23 accuse the Congolese army of cooperating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group founded in 2000 by genocide leaders and other exiled Rwandans to regain political power in their country.
Some 4,000 Rwandan soldiers are present in eastern DR Congo and the latest fighting has already left almost 3,000 dead, according to the UN.
