Rwanda 'still arming Congo rebels', in defiance of West
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Rwanda is still arming and aiding a rebel militia in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, a report has claimed, in defiance of Britain and other Western donors who froze aid last year over similar allegations.
Soldiers in Rwandan army uniforms have been regularly crossing the border between the two countries, bringing arms, ammunition, food and supplies for M23 forces, Human Rights Watch said.
Inside Rwanda, men and boys as young as 15 were being forcibly recruited to fight for the militia, which controls mineral-rich territory along the countries' border.
This is despite warnings from Britain that its funding to President Paul Kagame's government would be dependent on evidence that Rwanda was no longer involved in eastern Congo's ongoing conflicts.
Andrew Mitchell, the former international development secretary, froze £16 million of direct aid to the Rwandan government in July last year, then reinstated it in his last day in office in September.
He told David Cameron at the time that "reporting shows that practical support to the M23 has now ended". MPs criticised his decision.
Mr Mitchell's successor, Justine Greening, then cancelled £21 million of "general budgetary support" in November, money that would have been given with no strings attached to Mr Kagame's administration.
But Britain is still funding his government's ministries, with money earmarked for specific projects, mostly on education and job creation, a spokesman for the Department for International Development (DFID) confirmed yesterday.
Following the report, Ms Greening will now face pressure again to review Britain's spending in Rwanda, which had been planned to reach £85 million in 2013/14.
"For the past 17 years, the Rwandan army has repeatedly deployed troops to eastern Congo and backed abusive proxy forces responsible for war crimes," said Daniel Bekele, the pressure group's Africa director.
"As in the past, Rwanda denies it's supporting the M23, but the facts on the ground speak for themselves." Close to half a million people fled their homes when the M23 attacked the largest city in eastern Congo, Goma, last November.
The US state department said there was a "credible body of evidence" linking top Rwandan officials to the rebels and called for the immediate end of any support to the M23 and the withdrawal of military personnel from DRC.
Fresh fighting between the rebels and the Congolese army has forced 5,000 more into camps near Goma in the last ten days.
Alongside the allegations of Rwanda's support for the M23, Human Rights Watch also found evidence that rebel soldiers had summarily executed 44 people and raped 61 women and girls in the months since March.
A spokesman for Rwanda's government could not immediately be reached.
Previous similar allegations have been strongly denied.
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