Rwanda is a major country within the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), but it has now decided to quit.
In a worsening diplomatic tension, Rwanda cited a violation of its rights amid ongoing row with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwanda has been blamed for ongoing offensive by the M23 rebels in eastern Congo.
Kigali said it was expected to assume the chairmanship of the 11-member bloc at a meeting over the weekend in Equatorial Guinea.
But that Rwanda was denied that while the bloc, maintained Equatorial Guinea in the role, according to Rwanda’s foreign ministry.
Rwanda, in a statement, has condemned the move and said it constituted a violation of its rights.
It also alleged that DR Congo has instrumentalized the bloc hence Rwanda saw “no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles.”
It is still not clear if Rwanda’s exit from the bloc would take immediate effect or will take months or couple of years to be finalized.
The office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi reacted to Rwanda’s move saying in a statement that ECCAS members had “acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil.”
ECCAS was established in the 1980s to foster cooperation in areas like security and economic affairs among its member states.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
