Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda and commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces, has claimed that he does not know whether Rwandan troops are present in eastern DRC following recent clashes between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese armed forces that killed over 900 people. Despite mounting evidence and international reports suggesting that 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers support the M23, Kagame declined to confirm any troop deployment. Instead, he emphasized that Rwanda will do “whatever it takes” to protect itself. Kagame dismissed critics’ comparisons of Rwanda to Russia, particularly Moscow’s support of local separatist forces that tried to invade Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014, maintaining that his country’s actions are solely for national security. Meanwhile, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has vowed to mount a vigorous counter to the M23 rebel group, which he describes as Kagame’s puppet.
Source: CNN