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TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
US wants Rwandan troops out of DRC before peace deal signed, sources say
The US is promoting a deal that would require Rwanda to pull troops from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before the two sides sign a peace agreement, sources say, a condition sure to rankle Kigali, which has described DRC-based armed groups as an existential threat. US President Donald Trump's administration is holding talks to end fighting in eastern DRC and bring billions in Western investment to the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium. Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters in May Washington wanted a peace agreement finalised 'within about two months', an ambitious timeline for resolving a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide more than three decades ago. A draft peace agreement seen by Reuters said a condition for signature is that Rwanda withdraws troops, weapons and equipment from the DRC. The authenticity of the document, which is undated, was confirmed by four diplomatic sources, who said it was written by US officials. The draft goes beyond a declaration of principles that the two countries' foreign ministers signed at a ceremony in Washington in April with US secretary of state Marco Rubio. The document said the two sides would address any security concerns in a manner that respected each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Rwanda has sent between 7,000 and 12,000 soldiers to eastern DRC to support M23 rebels, analysts and diplomats told Reuters earlier this year, after the rebel group seized the region's two largest cities in a lightning advance. Rwanda has long denied providing arms and troops to M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against the DRC's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide that killed about 1-million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis. Rwanda had not responded to the US-produced draft agreement as of last week, two sources told Reuters. Rwandan foreign minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said experts from the DRC and Rwanda would meet this week in Washington to discuss the agreement. The US state department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A senior official in the office of DRC President Felix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of 'dragging their feet' on the draft and said Rwanda's withdrawal was necessary for the peace process to move forward. 'We demand the total withdrawal of Rwandan troops as a precondition for signing the agreement, and we will not compromise,' the source said. The US-produced draft agreement also calls for a 'joint security co-ordination mechanism' that could include Rwandan and 'foreign military observer personnel' to deal with security issues, including the continued presence in the DRC of Rwandan Hutu militias. Analysts said the most commonly cited group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, no longer poses much of a threat to Rwanda, though President Paul Kagame's government continues to describe it as a serious threat. The draft agreement also said the DRC would commit to allowing M23 to participate in a national dialogue 'on equal footing with other DRC non-state armed groups', a major concession for Kinshasa, which sees M23 as a terrorist group and Rwandan proxy. The DRC is engaged in separate direct talks with M23 over a possible deal to end the latest cycle of fighting. The draft agreement said Rwanda 'shall take all possible measures to ensure' M23 withdraws from territory it controls, in line with terms agreed in Doha. A source briefed on the process told Reuters last week Qatar had presented a draft proposal to the two delegations which would consult their leaders before resuming talks. However, a rebel official said there had been little progress towards a final deal that would see M23 cede territory.
TimesLIVE
02-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
US pushes DRC, Rwanda for peace accord and billion-dollar mineral deals
In mid-May US secretary of state Marco Rubio will meet in Washington with the Rwandan and DRC foreign ministers in an effort to agree on a final draft peace accord, Boulos said. But before that accord can be signed, Boulos said, Rwanda and DRC must finalise bilateral economic agreements with Washington that will see US and Western companies invest billions of dollars in DRC mines and infrastructure projects to support mining in both countries including the processing of minerals in Rwanda. "The [agreement] with the DRC. is at a much bigger scale, because it's a much bigger country and it has much more resources, but Rwanda also has a lot of resources and capacities and potential in the area of mining as well ... not just the upstream, but also midstream and downstream to processing and refining and trading," Boulos said. Boulos said US and Western companies have told Washington they would make multi-billon dollar investments in the region once the bilateral minerals deals are signed. Boulos also said before the White House signing ceremony can go ahead, Washington expects both countries to address a number of security concerns. For example, Rwanda must pull its troops out of DRC and end its support for M23 rebels. DRC must address Rwanda's security concerns with militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Boulos said that on Wednesday a follow-up committee was appointed to monitor both countries' progress towards the peace deal, which includes the US, Qatar, France and Togo, which is representing the African Union.
France 24
25-04-2025
- Business
- France 24
Rwanda and DR Congo set May 2 deadline for peace deal
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday set a goal of reaching a draft peace agreement by May 2 and vowed to respect each other's sovereignty following sweeping rebel gains. The top diplomats of Rwanda, which has faced criticism for backing the M23 rebels, and DR Congo, which has seen major cities fall in its turbulent but mineral-rich east, signed a declaration in Washington in the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The foreign ministers "commit to coordinate through existing channels to generate an initial draft peace agreement for the Participants' mutual review no later than May 2", it said. The two countries "mutually acknowledge each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity and commit to a pathway to resolve their disputes by peaceful means grounded in diplomacy and negotiation rather than hostile force or rhetoric", the declaration said. Without naming the M23 rebels explicitly, the statement said that both countries acknowledged concerns of the other and would "refrain from providing state military support to non-state armed groups". The two sides also said they would establish a "joint security coordination mechanism to counter non-state armed groups". In a surprise announcement Wednesday, the DRC and M23 rebels said they had agreed to halt fighting in the east of the country while they work toward a permanent truce. Thousands have been killed in a conflict that has raged along the border of the two countries since January. UN experts, the United States and other Western governments say that Rwanda supports the M23. Rwanda denies providing military support to the M23. A new US envoy for Africa – businessman Massad Boulos, who is the father-in-law of President Donald Trump 's daughter Tiffany – visited both capitals this month and has called for Rwanda to halt support and withdraw "all Rwandan troops from DRC territory". Qatar, which has worked with Washington on a range of thorny diplomatic issues, spearheaded talks between Rwanda and the DRC. The DRC has sought US support in part by offering to reach its own agreement with the United States on access to critical minerals found in the country that are vital for advanced technologies. The joint declaration said the two sides expected "significant investments" facilitated by the US government and US private sector. It said that the two countries would work with the United States on areas including mineral value chains and hydropower development. Rwanda says its security in the eastern DRC is threatened by armed groups, notably the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, created by former Hutu leaders linked to the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda. The M23 consists mostly of Tutsis.
Jordan Times
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
M23 accuses DRC govt attempting to 'torpedo' peace talks
Members of the M23 movement stand guard for the convoy of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda soldiers arriving at the the main border crossing between DR Congo and Rwanda in Goma on March 1, 2025 during the repatriation of FDLR soldiers by the M23 movement to Rwanda (AFP photo) GOMA — Rwanda-backed armed group M23 on Sunday accused the Democratic Republic of Congo's government, which it has been fighting in the country's east, of trying to "torpedo" direct talks scheduled in Angola. The spokesman for the M23 and the Congo River Alliance [AFC], a political-military alliance of which the M23 is a member, accused the DRC government of using fighter jets and drones to bomb densely populated areas in recent days. "This deadly escalation... demonstrates the Kinshasa regime's intent to sabotage the long-awaited dialogue," Lawrence Kanyuka said in a post on X. AFP could not verify the allegations made by the M23, and the DRC government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kanyuka in his statement "acknowledges receipt" of Angola's invitation to "direct dialogue" scheduled for Tuesday in Luanda with the DRC government. Angolan President Joao Lourenco called on Saturday for a ceasefire starting Sunday at midnight, an appeal to which no party has responded. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has so far refused to attend talks with the M23 group, which has made rapid inroads into eastern DRC since the beginning of the year with the backing of Rwandan troops. But following a visit by Tshisekedi to Luanda this week, "direct peace negotiations" were announced, starting Tuesday. Tina Salama, a spokeswoman for Tshisekedi, told AFP late Sunday: "A delegation from the DRC will travel to Luanda on Tuesday at the invitation of the mediator to hear what they have to say." She gave no details of its composition, nor whether it would engage in direct talks. Since January, the major cities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Goma and Bukavu, a region rich in natural resources and close to the Rwandan border, have fallen under M23's control. UN experts say the M23 is supported by approximately 4,000 Rwandan soldiers. Meanwhile Rwanda said Monday it had severed diplomatic ties with Belgium, saying the European nation had "consistently undermined" Kigali "during the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo". The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group launched a massive offensive in the mineral-rich east of the DRC earlier this year, taking two major cities. A United Nations report has said that Kigali effectively controls the group and has around 4,000 troops in the country. Kigali has denied involvement in the conflict and says it faces a threat from ethnic Hutu fighters in the DRC. "The Government of Rwanda today notified the Government of Belgium of its decision to sever diplomatic relations, effective immediately," the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. "Belgium has clearly taken sides in a regional conflict and continues to systematically mobilize against Rwanda in different forums, using lies and manipulation to secure an unjustified hostile opinion of Rwanda, in an attempt to destabilize both Rwanda and the region," it said. It said that the decision reflected "Rwanda's commitment to safeguarding our national interests and the dignity of Rwandans". All Belgian diplomats within the country will be required to leave within 48 hours, the statement added.
Jordan Times
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Berlin to suspend new aid to Rwanda over DR Congo conflict
Goma on March 1, 2025, after handing over the repatriated Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda soldiers to the Rwandan government (AFP photo) BERLIN — Germany said on Tuesday that it will suspend new aid to Rwanda over an offensive by the M23 group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that UN experts say is supported by Rwandan soldiers. "Germany will further restrict bilateral cooperation with Rwanda," the development ministry said in a statement. "In particular, we will suspend new financial commitments [and] review existing development cooperation with the Rwandan government." The ministry said it "strongly condemns" the offensive, in particular the capture of the main cities of Goma and Bukavu, which it labelled "a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of" the DRC. German development ministry aid to Rwanda averages around 50 million euros a year, in areas such as economic development, production of vaccines and climate protection. The offensive by the M23 has drawn widespread international condemnation. The German move comes after Britain recently suspended most direct bilateral aid to Rwanda and Canada imposed sanctions on the country over the conflict. Rwanda was informed in advance about the German decision, the ministry said. The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC, in the face of limited resistance from Congolese forces. It now controls large tracts of the troubled region and its rapid advance has sent thousands fleeing.
