London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

UK’s partner Rwanda and DRC tensions of 'grave concern', African Union leader says

UK’s partner Rwanda and DRC tensions of 'grave concern', African Union leader says

Senegalese President Macky Sall, current chairman of the African Union (AU), said Sunday he was "gravely concerned" by the "rising tensions" between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), asking for calm from the two.
"I am gravely concerned by the rising tension between Rwanda and the DRC," Macky Sall said in a tweet in response to the escalation of tensions in recent days between the two neighboring countries.

"I call on both countries to calm down and engage in dialogue for the peaceful resolution of the crisis with the support of regional mechanisms and the African Union," Sall added.

Rwanda said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were being held captive after being abducted by rebels in the DRC, accusing the country's authorities of supporting them.

The statement comes after the DRC summoned Rwanda's ambassador and accused its neighbor of supporting the M23 rebel group active in its eastern region.

According to the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF), the two soldiers were abducted during a patrol and are being held in eastern DRC by rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

The incident follows an attack earlier this week along the border by Congolese forces and FDLR rebels, according to the Rwandan army.

Fighting between Congolese forces and the M23 has broken out on several fronts this week in North Kivu, a war-torn eastern province of the DRC bordering Rwanda.

Kinshasa says the M23 — one of more than 100 armed groups operating in eastern DRC, mainly made up of Congolese Tutsis — is backed by Rwanda. Kigali has denied any involvement.

On Saturday, Congolese authorities decided to suspend flights by RwandAir.

The DRC and Rwanda have had tense relations since the mass arrival in eastern Congo of Rwandan Hutus accused of massacring Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan Tutsi genocide.

Kinshasa has regularly accused Rwanda of conducting incursions into its territory and supporting armed groups there.

Relations had begun to thaw after the election of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi in 2019, but the resurgence of M23 attacks has recently reignited bilateral tensions.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×