Have Belgian troops been deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

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Have Belgian troops been deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?  Belgium has denied claims that it has sent troops to engage rebels in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amid a diplomatic spat between Belgium and Rwanda.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/04/10/have-belgian-troops-been-deployed-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Have Belgian troops been deployed in the DRC?

00:08News reports and social media posts have been circulating online claiming that Belgium has

00:13deployed troops to the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to fight against rebels

00:18in the region.

00:19They allege that between 300 and 400 Belgian commandos are expected to engage the M23

00:24rebels alongside the Congolese army and militia groups, and that Belgium and the EU in general

00:29are supporting the DRC to the detriment of Rwanda.

00:32Belgium, however, strongly denies the claims and has accused Rwanda of mounting a disinformation

00:36campaign against it, amid mounting tensions between Brussels and Kigali that have led to

00:41the severing of diplomatic ties.

00:43Rwanda has pointed the finger at Belgium for allegedly taking sides against it in the ongoing

00:47conflict in the DRC's east.

00:50Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Pévost said that the online claims were grotesque

00:53fake news and that a Belgian contingent of only six troops have been sent to the DRC city

00:58of Kindu to help implement European support for non-lethal equipment for the Congolese army.

01:03He added that Belgium is not participating in any military operation and that claims to

01:08the contrary only seek to sow confusion and escalate tensions.

01:12Counter-claims later emerged online, alleging that around eight Belgian troops had died fighting

01:17and that numerous military flights between Belgian and Congolese cities had taken place.

01:21But Belgium has issued its own counter-claims, with its defence ministry pointing us back to

01:26a press release in late March.

01:27It said that around ten Belgian soldiers are in Kindu as part of the EU's European Peace

01:32Facility Project, with Belgium supporting the DRC in the purchase of equipment and infrastructure

01:37work at Camp Luwama in the city.

01:39It added that Falcon's 7X aircraft have flown between Belgium and the DRC, but in the context

01:44of separate missions that have nothing to do with a new military deployment.

01:48Rwanda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't respond to our request for comment as of the time

01:52of this report, while the DRC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs couldn't be reached.

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