European Union, Germany summon Rwanda’s Ambassador on DRC War

European Union EU has summoned Rwanda’s ambassador to demand Kigali pull out troops from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo DRC and stop backing an offensive by M23 armed group.

EU’s move comes after Germany on Thursday summoned Rwandan ambassador in Berlin and United States imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s minister for regional integration James Kabarebe.

M23 forces have seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC – including the main cities of Goma and Bukavu – in the face of limited resistance from Congolese forces.

United Nations experts have said Rwanda effectively controls the M23 and has at least 4

The 27-nation bloc is mulling its own measures against Kigali.

Belgium is spearheading a push for sanctions that could include targeting individual Rwandan officials, blocking a minerals deal, or suspending development aid and support for Kigali’s peacekeepers in Mozambique.

000 troops fighting alongside the group.

But Kigali has denied involvement in the conflict and says it faces a threat from ethnic Hutu fighters in the DRC.

EU foreign ministers are set to discuss the conflict on Monday at a regular meeting in Brussels.

The fighting in recent weeks has raised fears of a repeat of the Second Congo War, from 1998 to 2003, which drew in multiple African countries and resulted in millions of deaths from violence, disease and starvation.