<p>Kigali: Rwanda has said it would withdraw from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), underscoring diplomatic tensions in the region over an offensive this year by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo.</p><p>Kigali had expected to assume the chairmanship of the 11-member bloc at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea.</p><p>Instead, the bloc kept Equatorial Guinea in the role, which Rwanda's foreign ministry denounced as a violation of its rights.</p><p>Rwanda, in a statement, condemned Congo's "instrumentalization" of the bloc and saw "no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles."</p>.160-member BSF team sent to Congo for UN peacekeeping duties.<p>It wasn't clear if Rwanda's exit from the bloc would take immediate effect.</p><p>The office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said 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."</p><p>M23 seized eastern Congo's two largest cities earlier this year, with the advance leaving thousands dead and raising concerns of an all-out regional war. African leaders along with Washington and Doha have been trying to broker a peace deal.</p><p>Congo, the UN and Western powers accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 by sending troops and weapons.</p><p>Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces were acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed around 1 million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis.</p><p>US President Donald Trump's administration hopes to strike a peace accord between Congo and Rwanda that would also facilitate billions in Western investment in the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium.</p><p>ECCAS was established in the 1980s to foster cooperation in areas like security and economic affairs among its member states.</p>
<p>Kigali: Rwanda has said it would withdraw from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), underscoring diplomatic tensions in the region over an offensive this year by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo.</p><p>Kigali had expected to assume the chairmanship of the 11-member bloc at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea.</p><p>Instead, the bloc kept Equatorial Guinea in the role, which Rwanda's foreign ministry denounced as a violation of its rights.</p><p>Rwanda, in a statement, condemned Congo's "instrumentalization" of the bloc and saw "no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles."</p>.160-member BSF team sent to Congo for UN peacekeeping duties.<p>It wasn't clear if Rwanda's exit from the bloc would take immediate effect.</p><p>The office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said 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."</p><p>M23 seized eastern Congo's two largest cities earlier this year, with the advance leaving thousands dead and raising concerns of an all-out regional war. African leaders along with Washington and Doha have been trying to broker a peace deal.</p><p>Congo, the UN and Western powers accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 by sending troops and weapons.</p><p>Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces were acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed around 1 million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis.</p><p>US President Donald Trump's administration hopes to strike a peace accord between Congo and Rwanda that would also facilitate billions in Western investment in the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium.</p><p>ECCAS was established in the 1980s to foster cooperation in areas like security and economic affairs among its member states.</p>