Top U.S. diplomat Nduhungirehe talks on bilateral relations and regional security

Amb. Troy Fitrell, the Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, met with Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Ndungirehe, on February 12 to discuss the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the results of the extra-ordinary joint EAC-SADC Heads of State and Government meeting that was held in Tanzania on February 8, and ways to improve bilateral relations.

Their conversation was “productive,” according to a post on X from the ministry of foreign affairs. As mentioned, they talked on the present state of affairs in eastern DR Congo, “the positive outcome of the joint EAC-SADC Summit and finding a sustainable path to peace in the region,” and further enhancing bilateral ties between Rwanda and the United States.

A number of measures were adopted during the EAC-SADC meeting on February 8, including the neutralization of the FDLR genocidal militia that had been incorporated into the Congolese army, direct talks between Kinshasa and the AFC/M23 rebels, and an immediate ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FDLR is a terrorist group located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that was established by the surviving leaders of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi.

Hours before to the meeting between Nduhungirehe and Fitrell, the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), which comprises M23 rebels, in eastern DR Congo issued a warning about the Congolese army coalition, which includes Burundian forces, among others, stepping up its military reinforcements in South Kivu Province.

According to the rebels’ spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, these events jeopardize existing peace initiatives, including as the EAC-SADC conference on February 8, when regional leaders urged discussion rather than military action to resolve the war.

The populous freed districts of Kalehe and Nyabibwe are scheduled to be attacked by FARDC and Burundian reinforcements, according to reliable information. According to Kanyuka, such attacks will result in a forceful counterattack.

Kanyuka said in a statement released on February 10 that the Congolese army and affiliated militias were carrying out extensive murders and looting, as evidenced by the distress calls the rebels had received from Bukavu people. “The crimes committed in Bukavu by the Kinshasa regime’s coalition forces must cease immediately; otherwise, we will have no choice but to intervene to protect the Congolese population,” the rebels threatened.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Paul Kagame discussed the “need to ensure a ceasefire” in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on January 29, following the AFC/M23 rebels’ seizure of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu.

“Address the root causes of the conflict once and for all, and on the importance of deepening our bilateral ties based upon respect for our respective national interests,” Kagame said he and Rubio talked about.

“I am eager to collaborate with the Trump Administration to establish the prosperity and security that our region’s citizens are entitled to,” Kagame continued.