by Kofi Oppong Kyekyeku, Face2FaceAfrica.com
Rwanda says it could pull its counterinsurgency forces out of Mozambique if the financial support behind the mission dries up, a warning delivered Saturday by Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe.
In a post on X, Nduhungirehe argued that Rwanda’s military role in northern Mozambique has drawn criticism from the very countries benefiting from the operation. He said Rwandan troops were “being constantly questioned, vilified, criticized, blamed or sanctioned by the very countries that benefit from our intervention in Mozambique.”
He then sharpened the message about the future of the deployment.
Nduhungirehe said: “It’s not that “Rwanda could withdraw.”
“It’s that “Rwanda WILL withdraw” its troops from Mozambique, if sustainable funding is not secured for its counter-terrorism operations in Cabo Delgado,” he said, referring to the insurgency-hit northern province.
His remarks came days after the U.S. Department of State imposed visa restrictions on several senior Rwandan officials, accusing them of contributing to instability in eastern Congo. The measures added to earlier sanctions that targeted Rwanda’s military leadership.
The U.S. alleges that some Rwandan officials are backing the rebel group March 23 Movement, commonly known as M23. The United States says the group continues to operate despite a U.S.-brokered peace deal signed in December between the governments of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The rebellion in eastern Congo has left thousands dead or displaced. Authorities in Congo, along with the United States and U.N. investigators, have repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the movement. According to U.N. estimates, M23 has expanded from a few hundred fighters in 2021 to roughly 6,500 today.
The rebel group first surfaced in 2012 as a Tutsi-led force. Its members said the Congolese government had failed to honor a 2009 deal that promised to protect their interests, including integrating fighters into the national army and facilitating the return of refugees scattered across East Africa, the AP reported.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has previously defended the group’s cause, describing its campaign as a response to discrimination against Congolese Tutsis who have fled to neighboring countries over the years.
Rwanda has also pushed back against U.S. sanctions, arguing they unfairly single out Rwanda while ignoring what it calls violations by Congo’s government.
For years, Rwanda largely escaped strong international criticism over accusations of military involvement across the border in Congo. Analysts say the recent sanctions reflect a shift in Washington’s approach toward the East African nation.
While tensions rise over Congo, Rwanda’s forces remain active farther south in Mozambique, where they have been deployed to help contain a jihadist insurgency that erupted in 2017 in Cabo Delgado.
The militants, often referred to as Islamic State–Mozambique Province, gained global attention in 2021 after a 12-day assault on the coastal town of Palma. The attack killed dozens of security personnel, civilians and foreign workers, and forced the French energy giant TotalEnergies to suspend a $20 billion offshore liquefied natural gas project nearby.
The massive gas venture is widely viewed as central to Mozambique’s economic ambitions, a factor that helped drive the government in Mozambique to welcome Rwandan troops when they were first deployed in July 2021.
Despite that role, Nduhungirehe said Rwanda’s soldiers were facing condemnation even as they made their “ultimate sacrifice to stabilize this region” and enable displaced residents to return home.
In another message on X, government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said the cost of maintaining Rwanda’s deployment in Mozambique far exceeds the roughly 20 million euros, about $23 million, provided through the European Peace Facility.
Makolo was responding to a report by Bloomberg indicating that European Union funding for Rwanda’s mission in Mozambique is expected to expire in May.
“If Rwanda’s military authorities assess that the work being done by Rwandan Security Forces in Cabo Delgado is not appreciated, they would be right to urge the government to end this bilateral counter-terrorism arrangement and pull out,” Makolo said.