Democratic Republic of Congo negotiators have dropped a demand that Rwandan troops should immediately leave Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, paving the way for a U.S.-brokered peace agreement to be signed between the longtime enemies later today evening.
According to Analysts and Diplomats, Rwanda has sent at least 7,000 soldiers over the border, in support of the M23 rebels, who seized Eastern Congo’s two largest cities of Goma and Bukavu and a lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year.
The Government of Rwanda has for long denied providing arms and troops to M23 and said it is acting in self-defence.
Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwandan officials are expected to sign a peace deal in Washington today evening following a diplomatic push by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to end years of conflict which has deep roots in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
The agreement also aims to attract Western investment to the two countries’ mining sectors, which boast deposits of tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium, giving the U.S. access to critical minerals.
Sources told journalists earlier this month that Washington was pushing for Rwanda to withdraw its troops before the deal’s signing, a pre-condition that was also included in a U.S.-prepared draft authenticated by diplomats, although the timeline is certain to face resistance from Rwanda.
Kigali considers Congo-based armed groups an existential threat, particularly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which includes remnants of Rwanda’s former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide.
Credible sources intimated to our reporter that the new version of the agreement aims to obtain the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over several months and said the withdrawal would be conditioned on operations against the FDLR.
Three foreign diplomats and a Congolese official who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the talks intimated that
Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told journalists that under the agreement the lifting of defensive measures at the border area would be contingent upon the FDLR’s neutralisation.
The spokesperson for Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, Tina Salama told journalists that Kinshasa was keen and intent on securing the disengagement or total withdrawal of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory.
A State Department spokesperson said it did not comment on ongoing diplomatic negotiations and it remains unclear how far the agreement to be signed will advance beyond a declaration of principles agreed in April.
Technical experts from the two countries initialed a draft peace agreement last week, saying it addressed issues related to territorial integrity, a prohibition of hostilities and the disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration of non-state armed groups.
It also referred to a mechanism agreed as part of an earlier Angolan-backed peace effort to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers and Congolese military operations targeting the FDLR.
Additional Reporting from Associated Press.
