Belgium condemns Rwandan fake news campaign about military deployment in Congo
Foreign minister Maxime Prévot has condemned a Rwandan fake news campaign against Belgium. He called the campaign "a weapon to undermine Belgium's image and increase tensions".
News reports about Belgian military involvement in the conflict in eastern Congo have been circulating in Rwanda for several days. The reports claim that hundreds of Belgian troops have been deployed to fight the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group. Some reports mention tanks, although the Belgian army does not have any.
The campaign prompted the ministry of Defence to issue a press release on Wednesday stating: "Belgium has no troops deployed in eastern DRC as part of the fight against the M23".
A few Belgian military personnel are present in the Congolese city of Kindu as part of the European Peace Facility, the ministry said, and military operations always require government authorisation.
Speaking to the House Committee on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, Prévot spoke of disinformation by Rwanda and "actors sympathetic to the Rwandan cause".
The campaign represents "a weapon to undermine Belgium's image, to increase tensions and to legitimise a certain interventionism", he said.
'Disproportionate move'
On social media, he said that Belgium did not intend to take part in any operation in the region. "There is NO deployment to take part in any operation, and Belgium has no intention of doing so," he wrote on X.
Tensions between the two countries have been high since Rwandan president Paul Kagame decided to sever diplomatic ties with Belgium earlier this month. Prévot called the move "disproportionate" and retaliated by expelling Rwandan diplomats and ending intergovernmental cooperation agreements.
© BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE
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