The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has announced plans to focus on launching a sensitization campaign targeting members of the FDLR rebel group, urging them to return to Rwanda, rather than launching military attacks against them.
This was announced by the DRC’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thérèse Wagner Kayikwamba, during a press briefing held on Thursday, July 3.
The briefing followed a peace agreement signed between the DRC and Rwanda last Friday, mediated by the United States.
One of the key points in the agreement is that the DRC must “dismantle the FDLR,” a rebel group opposing the Rwandan government. In return, Rwanda will lift “defensive measures” it had implemented in response.
Massad Boulos, the U.S. Presidential Advisor for African Affairs under Donald Trump, recently told Jeune Afrique that the FDLR poses a “serious threat” to Rwanda.
However, Kayikwamba described the FDLR as a “30-year-old excuse,” though she admitted Kinshasa must bring the matter to an end.
She stated: “This FDLR issue has been used as an excuse for nearly 30 years. That’s exactly why it is part of the agreement — because we want to put an end to it. We want to end this recurring narrative that FDLR is a problem.”
When asked whether the DRC intends to launch military operations against the group, Kayikwamba said the first priority is to carry out awareness campaigns among Rwandan members of the FDLR to convince them to return home peacefully.
She said: “First, we need to sensitize FDLR members — who are Rwandan — that it is possible to return home and be reintegrated through the Rwandan Commission for Demobilization and Reintegration. That is the first step… if it proves effective, we will support their return.”
Kayikwamba added that the reason why the DRC is not rushing to use military force is because, in the past, various attacks were launched against the group — including joint operations by Congolese forces with MONUSCO and Rwanda (like Operation Umoja Wetu) — but the group was never fully dismantled.
Kinshasa has expressed that military action is not its priority, even though the FDLR is largely composed of individuals who participated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Meanwhile, the UN says its forces continue to cooperate with the DRC army.
A UN expert report on the DRC stated that, as of April this year, the Congolese government was still “supporting the FDLR and using its fighters on the frontlines” in its conflict with the M23 rebel group.
Rwandan Defense Forces spokesperson, Brig. Gen Ronald Rwivanga, recently revealed that the FDLR has between 7,000 to 10,000 fighters, based in both DRC and Burundi.
