French-speaking bloc says Rwandan head will not attend upcoming games

Pallade Veneta - French-speaking bloc says Rwandan head will not attend upcoming games

CULTURE 25.07.2023

French-speaking bloc says Rwandan head will not attend upcoming games / Photo: FETHI BELAID - AFP

The International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) said on Tuesday that its head, Rwandan national Louise Mushikiwabo, will not attend the Francophone Games that begin in DR Congo this week.

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The announcement comes amid high tension between the Democratic Republic of of Congo and its smaller neighbour Rwanda.

The DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels, who have captured swathes of territory in its east.

Independent UN experts and several western countries including the United States agree with that assessment, although Kigali denies it.

With relations dire between the African states, a question mark hung over the attendance of Louise Mushikiwabo at the ninth Francophone Games, a 10-day event due to kick off in the Congolese capital Kinshasa on Friday.

Mushikiwabo, a former Rwandan foreign minister, was in 2018 elected secretary-general of the IOF, an 88-nation group of French-speaking nations similar to the Commonwealth.

On Monday, Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya told reporters that Mushikiwabo would attend.

But Oria Vande Weghe, a spokesman for the IOF chief, told AFP on Tuesday that Mushikiwabo would not attend the Games, explaining that Mushikiwabo had never received an invitation.

"Unfortunately, this brings confusion and has led the secretary-general to reconsider her trip," Weghe said.

L.Bufalini--PV

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Pallade Veneta - French-speaking bloc says Rwandan head will not attend upcoming games