Rwanda: Rwanda Must Not Be a 'Forever Scapegoat' for DR Congo Crisis - Nduhungirehe

What the report says

Rwanda’s foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, said Rwanda should not be blamed indefinitely for the conflict and security crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to The New Times via AllAfrica. He made the remarks in Moscow on Wednesday, October 28, while attending the Russia-Africa Summit, as regional tensions continued to center on the eastern DRC and the stalled implementation of the Washington Accords.

Nduhungirehe argued that progress under the agreement has been limited because, in Kigali’s view, Kinshasa has not shown enough political will to neutralize the FDLR, an armed group linked to perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The accords required the DRC to disarm the militia, while Rwanda was to ease its own defensive measures. The article said Rwanda maintains that cooperation between Congolese forces and the FDLR has persisted.

The report also cited a United Nations assessment from September 21 saying the FDLR remained active in eastern DRC, with allegations of killings and forced disappearances in areas including Rutshuru, Masisi, Nyiragongo and Walikale. Nduhungirehe also rejected Kinshasa’s claim that former president Joseph Kabila was a Rwandan proxy. He said the DRC’s political and security problems are primarily Congolese issues that should be resolved politically by Congolese actors.