Ramaphosa, his officials lying and distorting information regarding DRC unrest talks: Kagame
Kagame said he held two conversations this week with Ramaphosa about the situation in eastern DRC, where M23 rebels, backed by Rwandan forces, are operating.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Picture: Wikimedia Commons
JOHANNESBURG - Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa and his officials of lying and distorting information regarding talks they had about the unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Kagame said he held two conversations this week with Ramaphosa about the situation in eastern DRC, where M23 rebels, backed by Rwandan forces, are operating.
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Since last week, 13 South African soldiers have died in the conflict between the DRC government and the M23.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ramaphosa said the fighting was due to an escalation by the M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force.
However, Kagame has taken issue with this, saying his force is an army, not a militia.
“I spoke with the President of South Africa, who sought me out to speak with me. He’s also there pretending to be playing a peacemaker role, and he has a force that has been fighting alongside FDLR [Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda] and has been fighting the M23 on the instruction of Tshisekedi because these are people who are not supposed to be in Congo.”
Meanwhile, Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola has dismissed these claims.
The Rwandan leader has described the Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s peacekeepers as “belligerent forces” siding with the DRC government and warned that if South Africa wants confrontation, Rwanda will respond.
But Lamola insisted everything was above board.
“I can confirm that everything President Ramaphosa has been able to articulate to the people of South Africa has been in line with the discussions he has had, and there was no lie or deliberate distortion. We are not there on a frolic of our own, as is suggested in some of the tweets you’re referring to.”