Rwanda Government Spokesperson Yolande Makolo has stated that the FDLR is not made up of refugees, and therefore the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo should stop appeasing the group and asking it to lay down its arms, given that there are clear agreements outlining how it should be dismantled.
More than a year has passed since Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed a peace agreement in Washington, United States. The Kinshasa government had agreed to dismantle the FDLR within 90 days, while Rwanda would lift its defensive measures. However, the DRC never fulfilled its commitment.
Following strong pressure from Rwanda, the DRC government reached an agreement with the FDLR on laying down arms and reintegrating its fighters into civilian life. Kinshasa recently circulated the document among African and European countries, calling for support for the new initiative.
The Rwandan government rejected the FDLR agreement, stating that it was not provided for in the Washington peace agreement. Rwanda reminded the DRC government that there is a plan known as CONOPS for dismantling the group, which was agreed upon by both sides and supported by the United States, and therefore should be implemented.
Speaking to Royal FM on August 6, 2026, Makolo said that regarding the agreement reached in Kinshasa, Rwanda’s assessment at present is that FDLR fighters remain integrated into the DRC’s armed forces and frequently change their positions.
She said: “What Rwanda sees, because we closely monitor the situation and have extensive information about what this genocidal group, the FDLR, is doing in the DRC, is that there has been no separation between the FDLR and the Congolese army. They are still within the Congolese army, and the FDLR is a group that frequently changes its positions.”
Makolo also explained that the DRC government continues to provide FDLR fighters with various forms of support, including financial and political assistance, and that the two sides are also fighting together in the ongoing conflict in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
She said there is an ongoing plan to sanitize the FDLR and portray it as a political movement, and that the plan is being developed through cooperation between the DRC government, Habyarimana Juvénal’s son, Habyarimana Jean-Luc, and other former officials of Habyarimana’s government.
She said: “We know that they continue to receive financial, political, and other forms of support from the DRC military, including fighting alongside them on the battlefield. We also know that they command other armed groups in the DRC that are involved in the conflict.”
The Government Spokesperson said that because there is nothing concrete in the agreement between the DRC government and the FDLR, the group’s leaders are not worried because they believe Kinshasa cannot send them to Rwanda since it supports them.
She said: “We do not believe it because we see what is happening. And we know that the FDLR leadership is not worried about being dismantled. They are not afraid of being sent to Rwanda because they know that they are supported by the DRC.”
Makolo said the FDLR has repeatedly carried out attacks in Rwanda and committed atrocities in eastern DRC at different times, and therefore there should be no pleading with the group to lay down its arms.
She explained that Rwanda has received thousands of former FDLR members who agreed to return home. They were first trained at a center run by the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission (RDRC), and they are now living peacefully alongside the Rwandans they have joined.
The Government Spokesperson emphasized that Rwanda’s program to receive former members of armed groups, including the FDLR, remains open. Those who return are trained, reintegrated into civilian life, and given opportunities to progress like other Rwandans. She therefore described those who remain in the forests of the DRC as people who are unwilling to change.
She said: “This is not a group that should be appeased. If we say it should be dismantled, then that is what should happen. We have told the mediator, and we have also discussed it with the DRC, that Rwanda is willing to work with the DRC to completely dismantle this group.”
Makolo explained that Rwanda had offered to help the DRC dismantle the FDLR, as was done in previous joint operations, including Umoja Wetu, which resulted in some of the group’s leaders being captured. However, Kinshasa rejected the proposal.
She said: “We have done it before. Umoja Wetu was one of the joint operations we carried out in the past. We are ready to conduct joint operations, but if they do not want that, as they have shown, we will do what is necessary. What is necessary is what is provided for in the agreement, CONOPS, and that is what we expect to be implemented.”
The Government Spokesperson said the Washington peace agreement is a good one because it addresses the concerns of both sides in order to achieve security and development in the region. She therefore said it should be fully implemented without altering any of its provisions.
Makolo emphasized that FDLR fighters are not refugees, but armed combatants who have held genocidal ideology for many years, noting that the founders of the group were among those who participated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
She said: “These are not refugees. The FDLR is not a group of refugees. They are armed combatants who hold a genocidal ideology.”
Yolande Makolo stated that implementing the Washington peace agreement requires political will, arguing that this is what the DRC government has lacked in order to dismantle the FDLR as it agreed to do last year.
