Congo says Rwanda is getting in the way of talks to end the M23 war

The Democratic Republic of the Congo says Rwanda is getting in the way of talks to end the M23 rebel war in eastern Congo, which has forced more than 1.7 million people to leave their homes.

Rwanda’s foreign minister said that Congo had refused to sign a deal that was reached in late August as part of peace talks led by Angola. That’s why the Congolese foreign minister spoke to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

The Tutsi-led M23 has been fighting an uprising in the east of Congo since 2022. Congo, the UN, and other groups say that Rwanda, which is close by, is helping the group with its own men and weapons.

Rwanda says it has taken what it calls “defensive measures” and doesn’t back M23. It also says that Congo is fighting with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu rebel group that has attacked Tutsis in both Rwanda and Congo.

They say they agree with a plan that would “neutralize” the FDLR and have Rwanda stop working with them. Wagner said that Congo had made a plan for its part of the deal, but Rwanda had only promised to leave the deal “without any guarantees or concrete details.”

She said that Rwanda was also waiting to leave until Congo dealt with the FDLR first.

“For this process to make sense, it is imperative that these two components be implemented in tandem,” she noted.

The talks have also been tense because Rwanda doesn’t want any part of the peace agreement that would say it is Rwanda’s fault for the war, and Congo insists that there needs to be a regional justice system, she said.

The talks are taking place in Luanda, the city of Angola, as part of a long-term effort to calm things down between Rwanda and Congo.
A speaker from Angola told the U.N. council that the next meeting of ministers will be in Luanda in a few days.