Latest news with #DRCongo
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Swindon sign defender Mabete from Wolves
Swindon Town have signed central defender Filozofe Mabete following the expiry of his contract at Wolverhampton 20-year-old made 15 appearances for Wolves' under-21 side last season and moves to the County Ground on a two-year deal."When I spoke to Ian Holloway, he made my decision so easy, I knew from that first conversation, Swindon was my next home," Mabete told Swindon's club website., externalMabete has represented England and DR Congo at youth level and becomes Swindon's fifth signing of the summer transfer window.
Russia Today
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
African state quits regional bloc over DR Congo dispute
Rwanda has announced its withdrawal from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) as tensions rise over its alleged role in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). The move followed an ECCAS summit held on Saturday, during which Equatorial Guinea was retained as the bloc's chair. Rwanda had expected to assume the rotating leadership position. Rwanda's Foreign Ministry said the 11-member bloc 'deliberately ignored' Kigali's right to the presidency in order to impose the DR Congo's diktat. The statement also condemned the 'instrumentalization' of ECCAS by the Congolese government. 'Rwanda denounces the violation of its rights as guaranteed by the constitutive texts of ECCAS. Consequently, Rwanda sees no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose,' the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Kigali said it had previously protested its exclusion from an ECCAS meeting in 2023, which was held in DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa. It criticized both the African Union and the ECCAS leadership for failing to uphold internal rules and procedures. 'The silence and inaction that followed confirm the organization's failure to enforce its own rules,' it stated. Tensions between Kigali and Kinshasa have escalated since the M23 rebels intensified their offensive in DR Congo's eastern provinces earlier this year. The militants have seized major cities, including Goma and Bukavu, reportedly killing thousands of people. Congolese authorities have long accused the Rwandan government of supporting the rebels with troops and weapons – a claim backed by a UN panel of experts. Kigali has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting its forces are only securing its borders. The accusations have also strained Rwanda's relations with some of its Western partners, including its former colonial metropole, Belgium. In March, Kigali severed diplomatic ties with Brussels and ordered Belgian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours, accusing the country of harboring 'neo-colonial delusions' and interfering in the conflict in DR Congo's mineral-rich east. On Saturday, the office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi issued a statement saying that ECCAS leaders had 'acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda' and called on the 'aggressor country' to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil. 'The summit recommended that Equatorial Guinea (outgoing) retain the leadership of the organization, to the detriment of Rwanda, until the resolution of its dispute with the DRC,' it stated.
BBC News
08-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Rwanda pulls out of regional bloc over DR Congo row
Rwanda has said it is pulling out of a central African regional bloc after a diplomatic row over its involvement in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of country was supposed to take up the chairman role of the Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas), which rotates between its 11 it was prevented from doing so at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial its decision to leave Eccas, Rwanda said its right to take up the "chairmanship… was deliberately ignored in order to impose the DRC's diktat". As a result it "sees no justification for remaining in an organisation whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose".The row comes as efforts to end the fighting in eastern DR Congo continue. Following US mediation, Rwanda and DR Congo are working on a draft peace plan that is expected to be signed later this to a statement from the Congolese presidency, the Eccas leaders at the summit "acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil".It added that until the dispute is resolved it was decided that Equatorial Guinea would remain in the chairman role "to the detriment of Rwanda".In a comment directed at Rwanda, Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said that "one cannot continually and voluntarily violate the principles that underpin our regional institutions and claim to want to preside over them".He added that the Eccas decision "should inspire other regional organisations to adopt a firmer stance against Rwanda".Rwanda has been accused of supporting M23 rebels in the east of DR Congo. The group has made major advances at the beginning of the year, taking the key regional cities of Goma and Congo's government, as well as the US and France, have identified Rwanda as backing the year, a UN experts' report said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the Rwanda has denied the accusations saying instead that its troops were deployed along its border to prevent the conflict spilling over to its has once before, in 2007, left Eccas, whose mission is to foster co-operation and strengthen regional integration in central Africa. It rejoined several years reporting by Emery Makumeno You may also be interested in: What's the fighting in DR Congo all about?The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR Congo'We would vote for peace - if we had a vote' Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Arab News
07-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
DR Congo, Burundi thwart Rwanda on regional bloc presidency
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea: Rwanda was blocked Saturday from taking the rotating presidency of the central African economic bloc because of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The presidency of the 11-nation Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) had been due to pass to Kigali, but at a heads of state and government meeting, DR Congo and Burundi objected. 'The conference postponed to another time the transfer of the rotating acting presidency of the community to the Republic of Rwanda and consequently decided to keep His Excellency Obiang Nguema Mbasogo as acting president of the community for an additional year,' a communique said. One ECCAS official described the atmosphere between Rwanda and DR Congo's representatives at the meeting in Equatorial Guinea's capital Malabo as 'tense.' The Congolese contingent said 'if Rwanda took the presidency, they would not be able to travel to Rwanda for community activities or events,' the official added on condition of anonymity. 'Burundi is also on the same path.' Diplomatic ties between Kinshasa and Kigali are fraught, with the Congolese government accusing Rwanda of supporting the M23 armed group that has taken swathes of territory in the mineral-rich eastern DRC since the start of the year. Neighbouring Burundi has sent more than 10,000 soldiers since 2023 to help the Congolese army fight the M23 and other armed groups operating in the conflict-wracked region. On Thursday, Qatari mediators presented the DRC government and the M23 group 'a peace proposal' to end the conflict, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP.
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Foxes defender Coulibaly makes Mali debut
Leicester City defender Woyo Coulibaly made his international debut for Mali during their 1-0 friendly defeat by DR Congo on full-back Coulibaly, 26, - signed by the Foxes from Parma for a reported £3m in January - was called up for the African nation for the first time in May, having switched nationalities from was also a first for Hamza Choudhury, who scored his maiden goal for Bangladesh during their 2-0 victory over Bhutan on Foxes academy graduate, 27, nodded in opener in the sixth minute on just his second appearance for the Bengal Tigers.
