By Sonia Rolley
(Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo has accused Rwanda of making obstacles in ongoing negotiations to resolve the M23 insurgent battle in japanese Congo that has displaced greater than 1.7 million folks.
The feedback by Congolese Overseas Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner to the U.N. Safety Council on Tuesday observe accusations from her Rwandan counterpart that Congo had refused to signal a deal agreed in late August as a part of peace talks mediated by Angola.
The Tutsi-led M23 has been waging an insurgency in Congo’s violence-torn east since 2022. Congo, the United Nations, and others accuse neighbouring Rwanda of backing the group with its personal troops and weapons.
Rwanda, which denies supporting M23, says it has taken what it calls defensive measures and accuses Congo of preventing alongside a Hutu insurgent group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which has attacked Tutsis in each international locations.
The 2 sides say they’ve agreed in precept to a plan that may see Congo “neutralise” the FDLR and Rwanda disengage. Wagner mentioned Congo had drawn up a plan for its facet of the deal, however accused Rwanda of providing solely a promise of withdrawal “with no guarantees or concrete details”.
She mentioned Rwanda was additionally making its withdrawal conditional on Congo first coping with the FDLR.
“For this process to make sense, it is imperative that these two components be implemented in tandem,” she mentioned.
Two different factors of competition in talks are Rwanda’s rejection of any clause within the peace settlement that may seek advice from Rwandan duty within the battle and Congo’s insistence on the necessity for a regional justice mechanism, she added.
The talks are being performed within the Angolan capital Luanda as a part of a long-running initiative to de-escalate tensions between Congo and Rwanda.
The following minister-level assembly will happen in Luanda inside the subsequent couple of days, an Angolan consultant advised the U.N. council.
