Germany Suspends Aid to Rwanda, Cites Involvement in DRC Conflict
Germany Suspends Aid to Rwanda, Cites Involvement in DRC Conflict
LN24 / 19 seconds
March 5, 2025
2 min read
On Tuesday, Germany announced it had stopped providing new development aid to Rwanda and was reevaluating its ongoing commitments due to Rwanda’s involvement in the conflict in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
The German Ministry for Development explained that it had informed Rwanda about this decision in advance and called on the country to stop supporting the M23 rebel group, which has made significant territorial gains in eastern Congo.
Congo, U.N. experts, and Western nations accuse Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, but Rwanda denies these allegations, claiming it is simply defending itself against Hutu militias responsible for massacres of Tutsis in Congo and posing a threat to Rwanda’s security.
Rwanda’s foreign ministry criticized Germany’s actions as “incorrect and counterproductive,” adding that countries like Germany, which bear historical responsibility for the region’s instability, should understand the consequences of imposing one-sided measures.
In October 2022, Germany had pledged 93.6 million euros ($98 million) in aid to Rwanda for the period from 2022 to 2024.
The M23 group has captured significant areas of eastern Congo and valuable mineral resources since January. This latest escalation is the most severe in an ongoing conflict that traces its roots to the aftermath of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and the competition for Congo’s vast mineral wealth.
($1 = 0.9508 euros)
