The Congolese government has accused Rwanda and its rebel ally, the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) of “openly proclaiming” its “desire to create a secessionist state” in eastern DRC. In a letter to the UN Secretary-General on Friday, Congo’s permanent representative at the UN, Atoki Ileka, said that RCD-Goma’s executive committee had recently referred to the movement’s structures as a “state”. “This description is extremely serious, in that it indicates the now openly proclaimed desire of Rwanda and RCD-Goma to create a secessionist state in the eastern provinces of the DRC, contrary to the will of the Congolese people,” the letter stated. It accused Rwanda of “hegemonist and irredentist designs” against the DRC aimed at a “possible annexation” of eastern Congo.
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