DRC, Rwanda sign peace deal in US
The deal is aimed at ending decades of conflict in eastern DRC and the M23 rebel group's territorial gains in key cities including Goma.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
4 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Rwanda exercises command and control over M23 rebels: UN experts
Armed rebels in violation of embargo, says report By Rwanda has exercised command and control over M23 rebels during their advance in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), gaining political influence and access to mineral-rich territory, according to a confidential report by a group of UN experts. The report obtained by Reuters details training which the experts say Rwanda has provided to M23 recruits and military equipment they say Rwanda has deployed — notably "high-tech systems capable of neutralising air assets" — to give the rebels "a decisive tactical advantage" over DRC's beleaguered army. The report was submitted to the UN Security Council sanctions committee for DRC in early May and is due to be published shortly, said diplomats. M23 has advanced in eastern DRC, seizing the region's two largest cities, Goma and Bukavu in January and February. DRC, the UN and Western powers say Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms. Rwanda has long denied helping M23 and says its forces are acting in self-defence against DRC's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The report by the UN experts said Rwanda's military support for M23 was not "primarily" aimed at addressing threats posed by the FDLR, asserting that Kigali was instead focused on "conquering additional territories". Rwanda's UN mission and a government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. US President Donald Trump's administration is trying to broker a peace deal between Rwanda and DRC that would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. On Friday the Rwandan and DRC foreign ministers signed a peace deal in Washington and met with Trump, who warned of "very severe penalties, financial and otherwise" if the deal is violated. Qatar is hosting a parallel mediation effort with delegations from the Congolese government and M23. The UN report said Rwanda has hosted leaders of a rebel coalition that includes M23 at its Gabiro Training Centre and also used military centres in Nasho and Gako to train M23 recruits. Rwanda also "drastically increased" the number of Rwandan troops in eastern DRC ahead of M23's advance, according to the experts, who offered "a conservative estimate of 6,000" Rwandan troops active in DRC's North and South Kivu provinces. The UN experts also accused Rwanda of "flagrant and systematic violations" of an arms embargo, and said a likely missile attack in January on an armoured personnel carrier carrying U.N. peacekeepers — killing one and injuring four others — appeared to have been fired from a Rwandan military position. An estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Rwandan troops were still active in M23-held territory when the report was drafted, and "several thousand" remained along the border ready to deploy, said the report, which covers investigations conducted up to April 20. M23's military gains earlier this year spurred fears of a wider regional war drawing in DRC's neighbours, and also fuelled anxiety over the fate of President Felix Tshisekedi's government. In March M23 travelled as far west as Walikale, an area rich in minerals including tin, putting the rebels within 400km of Kisangani, DRC's fourth-biggest city. The following month, however, M23 withdrew from Walikale, a decision the experts said was "taken following direct instruction from the Government of Rwanda, once again confirming Rwanda's command and control" over rebel operations. "This included strategic-level decision-making on whether to seize, hold, or relinquish territory, thereby demonstrating overall operational coordination and hierarchical subordination," the report said. The experts also accused DRC of relying on the FDLR and pro-government militia fighters known as Wazalendo, offering them money and logistics in violation of a sanctions regime. A DRC government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
eNCA
20 hours ago
- eNCA
DRC, Rwanda sign peace deal in US
PRETORIA - Congolese President, Felix Tshisekedi says a peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda will pave the way for a new era of stability. The deal is aimed at ending decades of conflict in eastern DRC and the M23 rebel group's territorial gains in key cities including Goma.
The Herald
2 days ago
- The Herald
Rwanda, DRC sign peace deal in US to end fighting, attract investment
There is an understanding that progress in ongoing talks in Doha, a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the DRC government and M23, is essential before the signing of the economic framework, the source said. The agreement signed on Friday voiced 'full support' for the Qatar-hosted talks. It also said the DRC and Rwanda will form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months. DRC military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a DRC-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same time frame. Reuters reported on Thursday that DRC negotiators had dropped an earlier demand that Rwandan troops immediately leave eastern DRC, paving the way for the signing ceremony on Friday. The DRC, UN and Western powers said Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against the DRC's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including the FDLR. 'This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws,' said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University in Canada who specialises in Africa's Great Lakes region. Similar formulas have been attempted before, Stearns said, and 'it will be up to the US, as they are the godfather of the deal, to make sure both sides abide by the terms'. The agreement signed on Friday said Rwanda and the DRC will de-risk mineral supply chains and establish value chains 'that link the countries, in partnership, as appropriate, with the US and US investors'. The terms carry 'a strategic message: securing the east also means securing investments', said Tresor Kibangula, a political analyst at the DRC's Ebuteli research institute. He said 'it remains to be seen whether this economic logic will suffice' to end the fighting. Reuters
