DRC files ICC complaint against Rwanda over alleged theft of natural resources News
OSeveno, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
DRC files ICC complaint against Rwanda over alleged theft of natural resources

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Minister of Justice Rose Mutombo filed an International Criminal Court (ICC) complaint against Rwanda on Tuesday over Rwanda’s alleged involvement in the theft of natural resources in the DRC. The minister stated that the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) had been collaborating with the rebel group M23, which has taken control of the Northern Kivu area near the DRC’s border with Rwanda.

This is not the DRC’s first accusation against Rwanda. A similar allegation was raised mid-last year when 500 Rwandan soldiers were accused of assisting the M23 rebels in attacking UN peacekeepers, but a Rwandan spokesperson denied these allegations. This accusation later re-emerged in December when a UN report accused the RDF of providing M23 with military reinforcements.

The ICC has been conducting investigations in Rwanda since 2004 and has prosecuted three people so far for crimes against humanity. The ICC prosecutor Karim Khan is expected to visit the DRC from May 28-31.

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