Louise Mushikiwabo, the Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, has said the root cause of the tension between Rwanda and DR Congo should be addressed in order to establish security in the region.
In an interview with French television, TV5 Monde, at the Francophonie summit in Djerba Tunisia, Mushikiwabo said what was lacking is political will to address the problem.
At a certain time, Rwanda and DR Congo, Uganda, Burundi and regional countries decided that it was necessary to get rid of all these armed groups. Those who don’t want to surrender and lay down arms would be disarmed.” she said adding
“Why has this not been done? We should go back to the signed agreements that have been in existence for more than 10 years and put them in practice. It is only a matter of political will,”
Mushikiwabo wondered whether it was necessary if OIF may introduce the new mission for DRC “We have several initiatives on the crisis.”
The ongoing conflict between the Congolese armed forces FARDC and M23 rebels in North Kivu has led to diplomatic tensions between DR Congo and Rwanda, with Kinshasa accusing Kigali of supporting the insurgents.
Rwanda has dismissed the allegations and instead denounced the collaboration of the FARDC and the FDLR.
