Rwanda is basically acting like Russia, and deserves the same treatment, says DRC's Tshisekedi

• DRC President Felix Tshisekedi has demanded international sanctions on Rwanda similar to those imposed on Russia.
  
• Rwanda recorded R19 billion in annual revenue from mining that the DRC says is drawn from Congolese territory.
• Tshisekedi castigated the EU for signing a mining industry agreement with Rwanda. 

The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Felix Tshisekedi, says he wants neighbouring Rwanda treated as the world did Russia: with heavy sanctions.

In a televised press conference, Tshisekedi roundly condemned what he called Rwandan aggression and the theft of Congolese natural resources.

Rwanda's support for M23 rebels had striking similarities with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he added, raising the rhetoric that has been flying between the countries to an unprecedented level.

"We will only be satisfied when the Security Council imposes sanctions on Rwanda. When Russia did the same thing, there was a flurry of sanctions. For a case similar to that of Russia and Ukraine, why is there not a single sanction? To me, they can do better," he said.

The DRC accuses Rwanda of exploiting its mineral resources in North Kivu, where M23 rebels are active.

Tshisekedi also expressed his disappointment over the European Union (EU) signing a Memorandum of Understanding on sustainable raw material value chains with Rwanda.

Under the MOU, the EU will be heavily involved in helping Rwanda, particularly with tantalum (also known as coltan) extraction.

Rwanda is also known for producing "tin, tungsten, gold, and niobium, and has potential for lithium and rare earth elements", the EU said in the MOU.

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Last year, the DRC said that Rwanda's smuggling of minerals from North Kivu cost it some R19 billion in gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten in 2022.

In 2021, a United Nations report exposed how blood mineral traders in Rwanda were helping fund Congolese rebels and undermining global supply chains.

Reports in Rwanda state that mineral export revenue in 2023 increased to more than R20.9 billion, up from the R14.6 billion recorded in 2022.

Tourism and mining are Rwanda's two main foreign currency earners.

The drums of war are beating

Tshisekedi said he wanted peace that should come with respect, not humiliation.

If that was not to be had, he was armed to the teeth for the last resort: war.

"We spent billions of dollars to get the DRC army to the level it is today. And we will continue to have such a strong army to dissuade adventurers like [Rwandan President] Paul Kagame from coming to play around in Congo," he said.

"I want peace, but not at the price of humiliation. We seek a definitive and durable peace, if we need to go to war [to ensure that the peace is definitive], we will be ready to do so."

In December, Tshisekedi replaced the East African Community (EAC) standby force with the SADC army (SAMIDRC), bringing the armies of Malawi and Tanzania under the command of South African National Defence Force.

The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) is gradually leaving the DRC. 

However, the M23 rebels accuse MONUSCO of fighting alongside the SAMIDRC, and the Congolese national army (FARDC).

M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said that this was a violation of international law.

"This continued support from MONUSCO to the FARDC, from logistics to physically aligning the Blue Helmets on the battlefield, alongside the FARDC which has within it in particular, the FDLR, and the SAMIDRC, is a blatant violation of the MONUSCO Mandate; which brings discredit to the UN and which transforms MONUSCO into a belligerent and party to the conflict," he said.

On Sunday, two rockets landed close to the UN peacekeeping base in Kimoka, four kilometres north-west of Sake in North Kivu.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, addressing journalists at the regular press briefing in New York, said MONUSCO "remains deeply concerned by hostilities in eastern Congo and reiterates its call on the M23 to stop its offensive and to respect the Luanda Roadmap".

"This, despite coming under fire and being regularly targeted," he added.

The fighting in Sake which erupted early in February, has so far driven nearly 144 000 people from their homes.

The majority end up in Goma, the provincial capital.