{"id":2000104178,"date":"2026-03-04T15:16:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T13:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/?p=2000104178"},"modified":"2026-03-04T22:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T20:03:07","slug":"sanction-drc-not-rwanda-former-belgian-senator-tells-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/sanction-drc-not-rwanda-former-belgian-senator-tells-america\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSanction DRC, not Rwanda,\u201d former Belgian senator tells America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a post published on X, Destexhe criticised recent U.S. sanctions imposed on Rwanda\u2019s military and defended Kigali\u2019s position in the ongoing eastern Congo conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is the DRC (Congo) that should be sanctioned, not Rwanda,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe DRC ignited this conflict by persecuting Congolese Tutsis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Destexhe accused Kinshasa of failing to uphold its commitments under international agreements, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2773, and of maintaining ties with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi who fled to the DRC. He further pointed out that the Congolese government finances extremist Wazalendo militias and collaborates with foreign mercenaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Destexhe, ongoing bombings in Minembwe and drone strikes in eastern Congo demonstrate what he described as indiscriminate attacks affecting civilians. He argued that the ultimate objective of Kinshasa\u2019s military posture appears to be confrontation with Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His comments come days after the U.S. Department of the Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) as an institution and four senior military officials, including Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Mubarakh Muganga and other top commanders. Washington accused Rwanda of backing the AFC\/M23 rebel coalition operating in eastern Congo, allegations Kigali has consistently denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rwandan government expressed regret over the March 2, 2026, sanctions, calling them \u201cunjust\u201d and \u201cone-sided.\u201d In a statement, Kigali said the measures misrepresent the conflict and unfairly target only one party to the peace process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed the Washington Accords in Washington, D.C., on December 4, 2025, aimed at restoring stability in eastern Congo. Under the agreement, Kinshasa committed to an irreversible and verifiable end to state support for the FDLR. However, the militia group remains active in the region despite the commitments outlined in the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda maintains that its actions along the border are defensive measures prompted by repeated attacks, including cross-border incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his post, Destexhe sharply criticised Congolese President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, alleging corruption and mismanagement, and arguing that the Congolese military is incapable of securing a decisive victory against M23. He urged U.S. policymakers to reconsider their approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWake up, America!\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Alain Destexhe, a former Belgian senator and researcher, has criticised recent U.S. sanctions imposed on Rwanda\u2019s military and defended Kigali\u2019s position in the ongoing eastern Congo conflict.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alain Destexhe, a former Belgian senator and researcher, has called on the United States to redirect its sanctions policy in the Great Lakes region, arguing that punitive measures should target the Democratic Republic of the Congo rather than Rwanda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000104180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[151,99,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000104178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-editors-choice","tag-greatlakesnews","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000104180,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/destexhe8.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":640,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/destexhe8.jpg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/destexhe8.jpg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/destexhe8.jpg","width":640,"height":426},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/destexhe8.jpg","width":640,"height":426},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/destexhe8.jpg","width":640,"height":426}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000104178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000104178"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000104178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000104181,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000104178\/revisions\/2000104181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000104180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000104178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000104178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000104178"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000104178"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000104178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}