Germany has halted new development aid to Rwanda and is reassessing existing commitments due to Kigali’s alleged support for the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Berlin announced on Tuesday.
The German development ministry said Rwanda had been informed in advance and urged to withdraw backing for the M23, which has seized territory and key mineral-rich areas in Congo’s volatile east.
Congo, along with U.N. experts and Western governments, accuses Rwanda of arming and financing the rebels—an allegation Rwanda denies. Kigali insists it is acting in self-defense against ethnic Hutu-led militias operating from Congo, which it claims pose a security threat to Rwanda.
Rwanda’s foreign ministry condemned Germany’s decision as “wrong and counterproductive,” arguing that Berlin should recognize its historical responsibility for regional instability instead of imposing “one-sided, coercive measures.”
Germany last pledged €93.6 million ($98 million) in development aid to Rwanda for the 2022–2024 period.
The latest escalation in eastern Congo has seen M23 fighters seize vast swathes of territory since January, further intensifying a conflict rooted in the fallout of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and the struggle for control over Congo’s immense mineral wealth.
