BERLIN — Germany has joined other nations in stopping financial support for Rwanda after the United Nations accused the East African nation of backing rebels in eastern Congo.
Germany will suspend $74 million of aid pledged in November, including about $26 million of direct budget support, Development Minister Dirk Niebel said in an e-mailed statement Saturday. The money was to be paid over a period of three years.
Germany four weeks ago suspended the signing of a budget-aid agreement after initial indications of illicit activities, according to the statement.
“The allegations must be completely resolved, and it must be clear that Rwanda doesn’t support illegal militia in eastern Congo,” said Niebel. “The suspension of budgetary aid is an unequivocal message to the Rwandan government.”
Both the Congolese government and the U.N.’s independent Group of Experts on Congo have accused Rwanda of supporting several rebel groups in Congo, in breach of a U.N. arms embargo there.
Rwanda denies allegations it is backing Congolese militias, including one called M23, made up of former rebels who abandoned the army with Gen. Bosco Ntaganda. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
The Netherlands said Friday that it will suspend $5 million of budget help. The U.S. State Department on July 21 said it’s withdrawing $200,000 in pledged support for a Rwandan academy for noncommissioned officers “in light of information that Rwanda is supporting armed groups” in Congo.
The U.K. Department for International Development on Thursday announced it will delay budget aid, while a disbursement from the African Development Bank has also been postponed until September after demands from Scandinavian countries, IHS Global Insight, the Colorado-based research group, said in an e-mailed note Saturday.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said Friday that the suspension of aid was the result of “hasty decisions based on flimsy evidence.”
Fighting in eastern Congo between government forces and rebel groups has forced more than 470,000 people to flee their homes since April, the U.N. said Friday.
Information for this article was contributed by Michael J. Kavanagh and Saul Butera of Bloomberg News.
Front Section, Pages 10 on 07/29/2012