FRANCE AND FOSSIL FUEL GIANT TOTAL SEEK TO KEEP RWANDAN TROOPS IN MOZAMBIQUE AS EU PULLS FUNDING

French officials and fossil fuel giant Total are looking at ways to continue a military mission led by Rwanda in north-east Mozambique, amid confusion over the future of the deployment, which has been combating Islamist insurgents close to a major Total concession. By Benjamin Fox, London

In January, after the Rwandan Defence Force captured the city of Ulvira in eastern DR Congo, the EU confirmed that it would end funding for the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) mission in May.

Weeks later, the United States imposed sanctions on the RDF as an organisation, accusing it of repeatedly breaking a December peace settlement signed by Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame and DR Congo’s Felix Tshishekedi.

Rwanda has since hit back by accusing the Trump administration of bias against them because it wants to get access to DR Congo’s mineral riches.

The RDF mission has been deployed since 2021 with a mandate that includes protecting a $25bn [€21.4bn] liquefied natural gas project in Cabo Delgado led by Total and US counterpart Exxon.

Total is understood to have secured an exemption to keep working with the RDF in Mozambique.

At the ‘Africa Forward’ summit in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on 12 May, French president Emmanuel Macron told reporters that “if everyone rushes to isolate Rwanda because the United States has done so, the chances of encouraging Rwanda to adopt a cooperative approach would be significantly reduced.”

He also urged the international community not to take sides in the conflict, adding that France supported “an approach aimed at sustaining dialogue with all stakeholders”.

Having signed a defence co-operation agreement with Kenya, Macron’s government is keen to broker a similar arrangement with Rwanda, with Maj Gen Pascal Ianni, chief of the French Africa Command, making a two-day visit to Rwanda between 18 and 20 May.

For his part, Rwanda’s foreign minister Olivier ⁠Nduhungirehe said on Tuesday (26 May) that Mozambique had secured the funds for Rwanda’s army to continue its deployment and that the deployment would remain in place, while complaining that two requests to the EU for financial support were met with “reluctance”.

However, that has been contradicted by other diplomatic sources in east Africa, who have indicated that RDF troops are owed more than $20m and are not being paid by Mozambique.

The EU insists that it will not step in when its €20m in annual support for the missions formally ends on Sunday (31 May)

“The current agreement under the European Peace Facility will end in May 2026. The European Union has not received any formal request for additional assistance from the Rwandan authorities,” said a European Commission official this week.

“The European Union recognises the very important contribution of Rwanda to efforts aimed at stabilising the security situation in Cabo Delgado. The EU also notes that the presence of the Rwandan Defence Forces has been valued by the Mozambican authorities,” the commission official added.