THE Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have agreed to take “concrete steps” to ease tensions amid a stalled peace process, after talks hosted by the US in Washington.
Conflict in eastern DR Congo has continued despite the two countries signing a peace deal with US President Donald Trump last year.
The pledge to ease tensions comes after the US earlier this month sanctioned the Rwandan Defence Forces and four senior officials and accused Rwanda of directly supporting the M23 rebel group, blaming it for escalating the conflict.
A joint statement by DR Congo, Rwanda and the US says they have “agreed to a series of coordinated steps to de-escalate tensions and advance progress on the ground”.
They pledged to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while Rwanda would disengage its forces and lift “defensive measures… in defined areas in DR Congo’s territory”, the statement says.
While DR Congo would intensify “time-bound” efforts to neutralise the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group that includes some Rwandan ethnic Hutus involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide and remains active in eastern DR Congo.
Rwanda describes the FDLR as a “genocidal militia” and says its continued existence in eastern DR Congo threatens its own territory.
It has repeatedly denied supporting M23 despite overwhelming evidence, saying its military presence is a defensive measure against threats against its security by armed groups in DR Congo.
Fighting has persisted in eastern DR Congo despite the US-brokered peace deal in December aimed at ending the long-running conflict.
Days after the signing ceremony, the M23 entered the Congolese city of Uvira near the Burundi border in the biggest escalation of the conflict in months. It later pulled out under US pressure, although it still controls large parts of eastern DR Congo, including the region’s two biggest cities, Goma and Bukavu.
Earlier this month, while announcing the Rwandan sanctions, the US said that despite the M23’s withdrawal, its continued presence near the Burundian border and Rwandan military support to them carried “the risk of escalating the conflict into a broader regional war”.
Rwanda rejected the accusations, saying the sanctions had unfairly targeted one side and “misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict”.
It also accused DR Congo of violating the peace agreement with “indiscriminate drone attacks and ground offensives”.
Recent drone strikes have heightened tensions in DR Congo, with a French national working for the UN and two other people killed last week.
The DR Congo army, stationed several hundred kilometres from the city, regularly launches long-range drone strikes on M23 positions, while security sources say the M23 also deploys explosive drones at the front lines.