As Rwanda votes, tensions with neighbouring DR Congo deepen over M23
Al Jazeera
A recent UN report accuses Rwanda of aiding M23 rebel group that’s battling Congolese forces in eastern DRC.
As Rwandans go to the polls for presidential and legislative elections, some 9.7 million people are voting in an atmosphere of peace and stability. It is a long way from the devastation the East African country faced after the 1994 genocide against its Tutsi population when President Paul Kagame first became de facto leader.
Thirty years on, Kagame faces no serious challenge to his rule and is expected to be re-elected for a fourth term. Critics accuse the president of repressing the opposition domestically. However, Kagame is also loved by many Rwandans, young and old alike. Many praise the longtime leader for reuniting the country after the genocide and setting it on a path of economic growth.
Yet, as Kagame seeks re-election, tense relations with Rwanda’s bigger neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), remain a deepening challenge for both countries and the broader region, say analysts.
Escalating tensions between the two, intensified by a United Nations report released last week, risk snowballing into a wider regional conflict, some fear.
In eastern DRC, M23 rebels, an armed group formed largely of Rwandans, are engaged in a deadly offensive with the Congolese military that has led to a massive humanitarian and displacement crisis and subsequent mediation efforts by regional leaders.
