The spokesperson for the FDLR, Cure Ngoma, said that the group had held talks with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, telling it that it does not want its issue to be resolved through force, but rather through awareness campaigns and dialogue.
Cure Ngoma made the remarks in an interview with the BBC while discussing the agreement between the FDLR and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) concerning the future of the group.
The FDLR spokesperson said that the Washington Accords and other accompanying documents contain a provision requiring the DRC to dismantle the FDLR. However, he said the group wants this process to be carried out without the use of force.
He said that, under the agreement reached with the DRC, the government agreed that force should not be used to dismantle the FDLR.
“The agreement contains a provision stating that Congo must dismantle the FDLR. That provision is what led us to reach an agreement on how Congo can fulfill its obligation without using force to dismantle us. Instead, it should be done through awareness and sensitization, especially since the CONOPS section contains both aspects,” he said.
The FDLR’s remarks highlight the group’s close engagement with the DRC government, including talks aimed at determining how best to dismantle the group. Rwanda, meanwhile, has for years called for the FDLR to be completely dismantled and disarmed.
Cure Ngoma also said that no deadline had been set for implementing the terms of the agreement between the FDLR and the DRC.
He said: “We were not given a deadline. Each side has its own responsibilities, and we never set a timeline because there are also things we are requesting that must first be fulfilled.”
He added that the FDLR operates in eastern DRC, particularly in areas controlled by M23, where he said its fighters are most visible.
For Rwanda, the FDLR issue has continued to be portrayed as a threat to its security because the group was established by individuals who participated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and operates near Rwanda’s border.
In talks between the DRC and Rwanda, from the Luanda process to Washington, the issue of the FDLR has been a major point of discussion. Rwanda has maintained that dismantling the group is one of the conditions for it to lift the defensive measures it has put in place along its border.
Rwanda Government spokesperson Yolande Makolo recently stressed that the Washington Accords are not intended to facilitate negotiations aimed at appeasing the FDLR, but rather to permanently eliminate the group through disarmament and dismantling.
She said: “The Washington Accords provide for the dismantling of the FDLR; they do not provide for a process of appeasing a genocidal group that the DRC government has continued to arm and collaborate with.”
Yolande Makolo said implementing the agreements requires concrete actions demonstrating that the FDLR has been dismantled and disarmed, rather than merely fulfilling what is written on paper.
On July 28, 2026, DRC officials, including the Minister for Regional Integration, Floribert Anzuluni, and Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya, said that the FDLR had agreed to lay down its arms, adding that what remained was for Rwanda to lift its defensive measures.
However, Rwanda rejected that interpretation, saying the FDLR should not be treated as an armed group that needs to enter into conventional agreements with the government, but that the issue should instead be resolved through the group’s dismantling.
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, said the agreement between the DRC and the FDLR was separate from the Washington Peace Accords. He also criticized Kinshasa for continuing to portray the FDLR issue as having been resolved.
Rwanda maintains that the FDLR remains a threat to regional security and that the real solution is not simply to engage the group in dialogue, but to implement a process to disarm and permanently dismantle it.
