While the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) scramble to end the fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a war of words between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, has escalated further.

Even a one-sided temporary ceasefire to allow humanitarian access declared by the Congo River Alliance, which includes the M23 rebels, has done little to calm the leaders in Kigali and Pretoria.

Following the deaths of 13 South African soldiers near Goma in eastern DRC last week, Ramaphosa called for a measured approach by Rwanda, signaling that South Africa ultimately holds Kagame's government responsible for propping up M23 rebels with the help of the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF).

"Without Rwanda's support, those [M23] rebels would not be able to act in the way they have been," Phil Clark, professor of International Politics at SOAS, University of London, told DW during the last major M23 campaign in 2022.

South African leader Ramaphosa has said any further attacks on his troops in eastern Congo would amount to "a declaration of war."

Kagame, meanwhile, took exception to Ramaphosa's calls for a UN-backed ceasefire, accusing the South African leader of distorting facts and saying, "if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day."

It is not the first time Rwanda and South Africa have squared off — although it might be the most public instance to date.

In 2021, South Africa accused Rwanda of spying on President Ramaphosa, as details emerged about the Pegasus spy-ware affair.

In 2014, South Africa expelled Rwandan diplomats after claiming they were implicit in the murder of a Rwandan political........

© Deutsche Welle