South Africa and Rwanda’s already fraught diplomatic relations have worsened after President Cyril Ramaphosa accused the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group of killing South African peacekeepers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
As the rebels gained the upper hand in the battlefield by capturing most of Goma the biggest city in the east South Africa fired a diplomatic salvo, warning that further attacks on its troops would be considered a “declaration of war”.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame hit back, accusing South Africa of being part of a “belligerent force” involved in “offensive combat operations” to help the Congolese government “fight against its own people”.
A total of 13 South African soldiers have been killed in the fighting since last week as the rebels made a lightning advance towards Goma – a major trading hub on the border with Rwanda.
Last year, another seven South Africans were killed in eastern DR Congo – making it one of the country’s deadliest combat-related tragedies in recent times.
South Africa and Rwanda have long had a difficult relationship.
In 2014, South Africa expelled three Rwandan diplomats after an attack on the home of an exiled Rwandan dissident in Johannesburg.
Kagame’s government responded by expelling six South African envoys.
Tensions seemingly eased after Ramaphosa’s visit to Rwanda last year for commemorations to mark the 30th anniversary of the genocide in which about 800,000 people were killed.
