Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe has called on the Democratic Republic of Congo to move from words to action in implementing the Washington peace agreements signed on December 4, 2025.
Amb. Nduhungirehe stressed that restoring lasting security in the region requires concrete measures, not rhetoric.
His statement follows reports that FARDC has launched operations to disarm the FDLR, a group linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
On March 29, 2026, FARDC Deputy Chief of Staff Jacques Ychaligonza Nduru announced from Kisangani that troops were deployed to eastern Congo to prepare disarmament operations.
“They must lay down their arms voluntarily or by force,” he said.
Rwanda warned that such operations should have been conducted discreetly to prevent FDLR fighters from evading or resisting.
Minister Nduhungirehe stressed that honoring the Washington agreements requires political will and tangible actions, including the complete dismantling of the FDLR.
While the RDC government denies links with FDLR and accuses Rwanda of using the group as a pretext, Rwanda maintains evidence of FDLR integration into FARDC units and involvement in clashes and genocide ideology propagation in eastern Congo.
The Washington agreements, supported by the United States, include a military framework, CONOPS, to restore regional security. They stipulate that Rwanda’s defensive measures can only be lifted once the FDLR is fully dismantled.
