UK blocks aid to Rwanda over Congo rebel claims

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is withholding 21 million pounds of aid to Rwanda because of "credible" reports the government in Kigali is supporting rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Britain, Rwanda's largest bilateral donor, is the latest Western ally to freeze aid after a United Nations report said Rwanda was behind an eight-month-old rebellion responsible for the worst fighting in eastern Congo for years.

The Kigali government said it was disappointed with the move. Blaming Rwanda for the latest bout of violence in the region might suit short term political gains but would not end the conflict, it said.

"This action harms Rwanda and does nothing to help the DRC," Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in a statement.

The U.N. report accused Rwanda of coordinating the creation of the rebel movement as well as military operations - charges Rwanda has denied.

However, Britain's International Development Secretary Justine Greening said Rwanda had breached the principles underpinning their bilateral aid relationship. She said the budget support payment due in December would not be made.

"The government has already set out its concerns over credible and compelling reports of Rwandan involvement with M23 in DRC," Greening said in a statement.

The M23 rebellion has posed the biggest threat to Congolese President Joseph kabila's leadership in years and threatened to develop into all-out war after the rebels seized the eastern city of Goma 10 days ago.

M23 commanders said this week they would vacate North Kivu's provincial capital. On Friday, however, the reluctance of some rank and file fighters to withdraw from the border city was complicating a deal brokered with regional governments.

The country is mined for minerals including tin, gold and coltan, which is used for components of mobile phones.

Britain had already frozen budget support to Rwanda in July, after a U.N. interim report accused officials in Rwanda of backing M23. The findings prompted other Western partners, including the European Union and the United States, to suspend aid to Rwanda, which relies on such support for about 40 percent of its budget.

However, Britain's former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell unblocked part of the cash in September, praising the Rwandan state for what he said were its constructive efforts to solve the conflict.

Britain has long been one of Rwanda's biggest donors. Its Department for International Development planned to spend an average of 83 million pounds per year in Rwanda until 2015.

It also said on Friday it would provide an extra 18 million pounds of support for immediate humanitarian needs in Congo.

(Reporting by Natalie Huet in London and Jenny Clover in Kigali; Editing by Richard Lough and Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-blocks-aid-rwanda-over-congo-rebel-claims-155615232.html

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