The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recently claimed that fighters from the FDLR terrorist group are operating in areas controlled by the AFC/M23 coalition, saying it is unable to reach those areas to dismantle the group.
The Rwandan government says this amounts to the DRC shirking its responsibilities under the Washington Peace Agreement, which requires Kinshasa to dismantle the group in order to achieve lasting peace in the Great Lakes region.
Rwanda says it has extensive information about the FDLR and its continued cooperation with the Congolese army, and that it has submitted all the information to the mediator, the United States.
FDLR spokesman Cure Ngoma also recently said that all of the group’s fighters are based in areas controlled by AFC/M23. He made the remarks after the group reached an agreement with the DRC government described as a deal for laying down arms and reintegrating its members into civilian life.
Speaking to the BBC, Cure Ngoma said: “I can tell you that we are located in eastern Congo, particularly in the area occupied by M23 and Rwanda. In general, that is where our forces are found.”
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, told the Agasaro Kaburaga channel that claims that FDLR fighters are based in areas controlled by AFC/M23 are a lie spread by the DRC government.
“That is a lie by the government of Congo. Some of them have been incorporated into the army, and they fight alongside them in battles both in North Kivu and South Kivu. These are well-known facts,” he said.
Minister Nduhungirehe explained that the DRC government is known for making such excuses. He said that, in addition to denying that FDLR fighters are present in areas under its control, Kinshasa had previously claimed that they were elderly and incapable of fighting, or even that they did not exist at all.
