(Reuter) – Germany announced on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, that it has suspended new development aid to Rwanda and is reviewing its existing commitments due to Rwanda’s alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development stated that Berlin had informed Rwanda of its decision in advance and urged the country to withdraw its support for the M23 rebel group, which has been making significant advances in eastern Congo.
The Congolese government, United Nations experts, and Western nations have accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels. However, Rwanda has consistently denied these allegations, asserting that it is merely defending itself against ethnic Hutu-led militias in Congo that pose a threat to Tutsis and Rwanda’s national security.
In response, Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Germany’s decision, calling it “wrong and counterproductive.”
“Countries like Germany that bear a historical responsibility for the recurring instability in this region should know better than to apply one-sided, coercive measures,” Rwanda’s foreign ministry said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.
Germany had last pledged development aid of €93.6 million ($98 million) to Rwanda in October 2022 for the 2022–2024 period.
Since January, the M23 group has seized large areas of eastern Congo, including territories rich in valuable mineral resources. The ongoing conflict marks the most severe escalation of a long-standing crisis, which has its roots in the aftermath of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and the struggle for control over Congo’s vast mineral wealth.
($1 = €0.9508)
