Rwanda announced on Sunday its intention to withdraw from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), citing deepening tensions with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The move comes after the regional bloc postponed transferring its rotating presidency to Rwanda, a decision Kigali called a violation of its rights.
The dispute follows months of escalating conflict in eastern Congo, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group seized major cities earlier this year. The offensive has fueled a broader crisis between the two neighbors, with Kinshasa accusing Kigali of direct military support—a claim Rwanda denies.
At a summit in Equatorial Guinea on Saturday, ECCAS members opted to extend the acting presidency of Equatorial Guinea’s leader, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, rather than hand the role to Rwanda as expected. In a statement, Rwanda’s foreign ministry condemned the move and accused Congo of manipulating the bloc.
"The conference postponed the transfer of the rotating presidency to Rwanda and decided to retain President Obiang for an additional year," read an ECCAS communiqué. Rwanda responded by declaring it saw "no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles."
The Congolese presidency, meanwhile, asserted that ECCAS members had "acknowledged Rwanda’s aggression against the DRC" and demanded Kigali withdraw its forces from Congolese territory.
The M23’s advances in eastern Congo have displaced thousands and raised fears of a wider regional war. The UN and Western nations, including the U.S., accuse Rwanda of backing the rebels with troops and arms—an allegation Kigali rejects. Rwanda maintains its military actions are defensive, citing threats from Congolese forces and ethnic Hutu militias linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Efforts to broker peace, led by African mediators as well as the U.S. and Qatar, have so far failed to yield a breakthrough. The Biden administration has pushed for a resolution that could unlock billions in Western investment in Congo’s mineral-rich east, a key source of cobalt, copper, and other critical resources.
ECCAS, founded in the 1980s to promote economic and security cooperation among Central African nations, now faces a major rift with Rwanda’s impending exit. It remains unclear whether the withdrawal will take immediate effect.