US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump is ready to hit Rwanda with consequences after Kigali backed rebels who grabbed Uvira, a lakeside city in eastern DRC near the Burundi border. The move breaks the Washington Accords that Trump helped broker, and Rubio posted that America will make sure Rwanda keeps its promises. Mike Waltz told the UN Security Council that Rwanda sent between 5,000 and 7,000 troops into eastern Congo with heavy weapons like artillery and suicide drones, some of which apparently smacked targets inside Burundi.
Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau called the Uvira offensive a massive mistake that kills any chance of US-Rwanda cooperation on regional development. Kigali keeps denying it backs M23 or has boots on the ground, but American officials say the operation was way too coordinated to be anything other than direct Rwandan involvement.
Burundi is freaking out because Uvira sits right across from Bujumbura, and officials warned they might invoke self-defense rights under the UN Charter. Potential US measures could include sanctions and military cooperation restrictions.
Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau called the Uvira offensive a massive mistake that kills any chance of US-Rwanda cooperation on regional development. Kigali keeps denying it backs M23 or has boots on the ground, but American officials say the operation was way too coordinated to be anything other than direct Rwandan involvement.
Burundi is freaking out because Uvira sits right across from Bujumbura, and officials warned they might invoke self-defense rights under the UN Charter. Potential US measures could include sanctions and military cooperation restrictions.
