Rwanda has officially announced its withdrawal from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), citing what it calls the “instrumentalization” of the bloc by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the backing of some member states.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Saturday night by the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Kigali accused the DRC of violating the community’s founding treaty and undermining Rwanda’s rights within the organization.

The latest controversy unfolded at the 26th Ordinary Summit held in Malabo, where Rwanda claims its rightful turn to assume the bloc’s rotating presidency — as provided for in Article 6 of the ECCAS treaty — was deliberately bypassed in favor of DRC’s agenda.

“This is not an isolated incident,” the statement reads. “Rwanda had already, in a letter addressed to the Chairperson of the African Union, denounced the illegal exclusion from the 22nd Summit in 2023 in Kinshasa, under the DRC’s chairmanship.”

Kigali further criticized the organization’s failure to address what it sees as repeated violations of its internal rules, adding that the silence and inaction of ECCAS have demonstrated the organization’s inability to uphold its own governing principles.

By withdrawing from the bloc, Rwanda is rejecting what it describes as a serious infringement on its sovereign rights guaranteed by ECCAS founding texts.

“Rwanda sees no reason to remain a member of an organization whose operations have become incompatible with its principles and its purpose,” the statement concludes.

The latest decision marks a serious escalation in the diplomatic tensions between Kigali and Kinshasa, already strained by ongoing security and political disputes in the Great Lakes region.

Complex Relations

The diplomatic rupture between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been steadily deepening over the past several years, fueled by security, political, and historical disputes that date back to the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

At the heart of the conflict is the persistent issue of armed groups operating along their shared border, particularly the resurgence of the M23 rebel movement, which Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing — a charge Kigali has consistently denied.

In turn, Rwanda has accused the DRC of harboring the FDLR, a militia comprised of remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide, posing an ongoing security threat to Rwanda’s national stability.

Tensions

These security tensions have repeatedly spilled into the diplomatic arena, with both sides trading accusations at regional and international forums, including the United Nations and African Union.

The dispute over leadership positions within ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States) is now the latest flashpoint.

Rwanda sees Kinshasa’s influence within the bloc — and its alleged effort to block Rwanda’s rightful turn at ECCAS leadership — as part of a broader campaign to isolate and delegitimize Kigali on the continental stage.

Beyond the bilateral tensions, the crisis has also exposed divisions within African regional organizations, where geopolitical rivalries often spill into institutional processes.

The failure of ECCAS to mediate or enforce its internal rules, as claimed by Rwanda, underscores the fragility of multilateral diplomacy in Central Africa amid intensifying national rivalries.

The fallout from Rwanda’s withdrawal could have implications for regional security cooperation, cross-border trade, and peacekeeping initiatives in the volatile Great Lakes region, where both countries are major players.

What’s the fighting in DR Congo all about?

2 May 2025 Share Save Damian Zane BBC News Share Save

AFP

The mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been dogged by conflict for more than 30 years, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Numerous armed groups have competed with the central authorities for power and control of the potential fortune in this vast nation. The instability has sucked in neighbouring countries to devastating effect – notoriously in the 1990s when two huge conflicts, dubbed Africa’s World Wars, resulted in the deaths of millions of people. An upsurge in the conflict since the beginning of this year which saw major advances by a rebel group known as the M23 has renewed attention on the region.

What has the M23 done?

After the M23 captured a number of key cities and towns, talk of a peace deal is now in the air. The group’s first major advance was at the end of January with the taking of Goma – a city in North Kivu province that is home to more than a million people. Sitting on the border with Rwanda and the shores of Lake Kivu, Goma is a vital trading and transport hub that is within reach of mining towns supplying metals and minerals in high demand. In February, the M23 also seized another important city in the region, South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu. Fighting between the M23 and the Congolese army and allied militia has continued in the region as the rebels attempt to expand their territory. At one point, they threatened to target the nation’s capital, Kinshasa – a city 2,600km (1,600 miles) away, on the other side of this vast country.

Who are the M23?

The M23 is led by ethnic Tutsis, who say they needed to take up arms to protect the rights of the minority group. They say that several previous deals to end decades of fighting in the region have not been respected – they take their name from a peace agreement that was signed with a previous Tutsi-led rebel group on 23 March 2009. Shortly after its creation in 2012, the M23 rapidly gained territory and seized Goma – acts that were met with international opprobrium and accusations of war crimes and human rights violations. It was forced to withdraw from Goma, and then suffered a series of heavy defeats at the hands of the Congolese army along with a UN force that saw it expelled from the country. M23 fighters then agreed to be integrated into the army in return for promises that Tutsis would be protected. But, in 2021, the group took up arms again, saying the promises had been broken.

Is Rwanda involved in the fighting?

M23 leader Sultani Makenga is a Congolese Tutsi who previously fought in the Rwandan army. Who is Sultani Makenga? Rwanda has in the past consistently denied that it supported the M23, but ever since 2012 UN experts have accused it of providing weapons, logistical support and even ultimately commanding the rebels. DR Congo’s government, as well as the US and France, have also identified Rwanda as backing the group. Last year, a UN experts report said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23. The UK suspended some aid to Rwanda accusing its army of supporting the rebels. In February, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told the BBC that the country’s troops were deployed along its border to prevent the conflict spilling over to its territory. Rwanda previously said it was being scapegoated and blamed the recent fighting on the Congolese authorities, saying they had refused to enter into a dialogue with the M23.

What is the connection with Rwanda?

The origin of the current fighting can partly be traced back to the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. About 800,000 people – mostly from the Tutsi community – were slaughtered by ethnic Hutu extremists. The genocide ended with the advance of a force of Tutsi-led rebels commanded by Paul Kagame, who is now president. Fearing reprisals, an estimated one million Hutus then fled across the border to what is now DR Congo. This stoked ethnic tensions as a marginalised Tutsi group in the east – the Banyamulenge – felt increasingly under threat. Rwanda’s army twice invaded DR Congo, saying it was going after some of those responsible for the genocide, and worked with members of the Banyamulenge and other armed groups. After 30 years of conflict, one of the Hutu groups, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which includes some of those responsible for the Rwandan genocide, is still active in eastern DR Congo. Rwanda describes the FDLR as a “genocidal militia” and says its continued existence in the DR Congo’s east threatens its own territory. The Rwandan spokesperson said the FDLR wanted to return to Rwanda to “finish the job”. Rwanda accuses the Congolese authorities of working with the FDLR – accusations which DR Congo denies. It is unlikely to stay out of DR Congo unless it is satisfied that the FDLR is no longer a threat to itself, or to the Tutsi communities in eastern DR Congo. The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR Congo

What of the moves towards peace in DR Congo?

In recent weeks, there have been rapid developments towards finding a solution to the conflict after months of frustration as efforts, led by Angola, to broker a sustainable ceasefire kept on breaking down. 18 March – Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Kagame called for an “immediate ceasefire” after having direct talks in Qatar

23 April – DR Congo and the M23 agreed to halt fighting in the east until Qatar-mediated peace talks reach their “conclusion”

25 April – DR Congo and Rwanda signed an agreement in Washington to respect each other’s sovereignty and come up with a draft peace deal. Despite these agreements there were reports that fighting was continuing in the east with the M23 taking more villages in South Kivu province. Nevertheless, the US, with an eye on striking mineral deals with both countries, is urging DR Congo and Rwanda to sign a deal by July.

What about Congo’s mineral wealth?

DR Congo and multiple UN reports have accused Rwanda of using the conflict as a way of looting Congolese minerals, such as gold and coltan, which is used to make mobile phones and other electronic items such as cameras and inside cars. In recent years, the M23 has seized several lucrative mining areas and a report by UN experts last December said that around 120 tonnes of coltan was being sent by the M23 to Rwanda every four weeks. Rwanda has consistently denied allegations of exploiting DR Congo’s minerals. Your phone, a rare metal and the war in DR Congo Meanwhile, the Congolese government is negotiating a minerals deal with the US with the hope that it could help quell the violence. The US is also aiming to make a similar deal with Rwanda, President Donald Trump’s senior advisor for Africa Massad Boulos told the Reuters news agency. Is Trump mulling a minerals deal with conflict-hit DR Congo?

What are the UN peacekeepers doing?

A UN peacekeeping mission has been in place since 1999. The current force – known as Monusco – is made up of more than 10,000 troops. However, of these, only the Force Intervention Brigade is allowed to carry out offensive operations against armed groups. It was this force that helped defeat the M23 in 2013. Monusco has been the target of anger from ordinary Congolese who see it as failing to do its job. President Tshisekedi, deeming the mission a failure, had asked it to leave by the end of last year. But the departure was delayed and in December the mission was extended for another year. A military force from Southern African Development Community (Sadc), a regional grouping of 16 countries, that was deployed in late 2023 began withdrawing at the end of April. It had failed to halt the M23 advance and in March its mission was terminated. This came after 14 South African soldiers were killed in January, along with several more from Malawi and Tanzania.

More about the conflict in DR Congo:

Getty Images/BBC

Rwanda pulls out of regional bloc over DR Congo row

Rwanda is accused of backing the M23 rebel group, which controls Goma and other parts of eastern DR Congo

Announcing its decision to leave Eccas , Rwanda said its right to take up the “chairmanship… was deliberately ignored in order to impose the DRC’s diktat”.

But it was prevented from doing so at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea.

The country was supposed to take up the chairman role of the Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas), which rotates between its 11 members.

Rwanda says it is pulling out of a central African regional bloc after a diplomatic row over its involvement in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As a result, it saw “no justification for remaining in an organisation whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose”.

The row comes as efforts to end the fighting in eastern DR Congo continue. Following US mediation, Rwanda and DR Congo are working on a draft peace plan that is expected to be signed later this month.

According to a statement from the Congolese presidency, the Eccas leaders at the summit “acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil”.

It added that until the dispute was resolved, it was decided that Equatorial Guinea would remain in the chairman role “to the detriment of Rwanda”.

In comments directed at Rwanda, Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said that “one cannot continually and voluntarily violate the principles that underpin our regional institutions and claim to want to preside over them”.

He added that the Eccas decision “should inspire other regional organisations to adopt a firmer stance against Rwanda”.

Rwanda has been accused of supporting M23 rebels in the east of DR Congo. The group has made major advances at the beginning of the year, taking the key regional cities of Goma and Bukavu.

DR Congo’s government, the US and France have identified Rwanda as backing the M23.

Last year, a UN experts’ report said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the rebels.

But Rwanda has denied the accusations, saying instead that its troops were deployed along its border to prevent the conflict spilling over into its territory.

Rwanda has once before, in 2007, left Eccas, whose mission is to foster co-operation and strengthen regional integration in central Africa. It rejoined several years later.

Additional reporting by Emery Makumeno

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There have been concerns the fighting could escalate to a wider regional conflict.

The M23 has continued to gain ground in eastern DR Congo and last month seized the region’s second-biggest city, Bukavu.

South Africa’s deployment was heavily criticised by the public and opposition following the killing of its soldiers.

Announcing the withdrawal, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the “situation is precarious, but the peace as it is now is holding”.

However, the M23 has continued to seize more territory this week.

Sandile Swanda, a South African political analyst, told the BBC it was an “embarrassing” situation for her country.

“The rebels are very strong. This is a full-on war and South Africa is hardly ready for any such war,” he said.

He added: “No country in the Sadc region is ready for this war – psychologically, militarily and politically.”

But the withdrawal is not just a setback for South Africa, it’s a blow to both Sadc and the DR Congo, analysts say.

Stephanie Wolters, a senior research fellow at the South African Institute of International Affairs, told the BBC that Sadc’s withdrawal weakens Kinshasa’s position.

“They [Sadc] have gone from being on Kinshasa’s side to being at best in a neutral position,” she said.

In February, Malawi’s president said its troops would be withdrawn from DR Congo, although he didn’t give a reason.