Rwanda has given Belgian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country after severing ties with Brussels.
In a statement, Kigali’s Foreign Affairs Ministry accused Belgium of interference, following the European nation’s recent decision to freeze aid and suspend trade agreements over Rwanda’s alleged aggression in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
During a press conference in Kigali, President Paul Kagame struck a defiant tone, asserting that Rwanda would defend its interests against foreign interference.
He specifically called out Belgium, which ruled Rwanda as a colony until 1962, accusing it of past atrocities and vowing to resist what he described as “neo-colonial interference.”