Rwandan truckers and exporters say they are paying a steep price for the conflict in the eastern region of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, having to deal with angry locals and fearful customers.
Olivier Munyemana, a Rwandan lorry driver, knows the route from the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam to the DRC by heart, having driven it for eight years.
But as fighting has escalated in DRC in recent months, with the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group seizing large areas of the east, including the border towns of Goma and Bukavu, he is too afraid to cross.
He says drivers face attacks from locals angry at Rwanda’s involvement in the conflict.
“I can’t risk my life or losing my truck,” he told AFP. “We have had cases of trucks being burned and drivers attacked.”
Rwanda says the M23’s takeover in eastern DRC is necessary to eradicate a Rwandan militia originally formed…
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