Rwanda, DR Congo agree to reduce tensions

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi held talks Wednesday in Angola aimed at defusing tensions between the neighboring countries.

The talks, brokered by Angolan President João Lourenço in the capital Luanda, came on the back of allegations that Rwanda is backing rebels of the M23 Movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo in renewed fighting in eastern North Kivu Province.

The two leaders agreed on the “immediate de-escalation of hostilities and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the M23 rebels from their positions in the DR Congo,” said the Congolese presidency.

They also agreed on a “roadmap” that includes reactivation of a mechanism called the Joint Intelligence Team, which brought together civilian and military data collected by the two countries to provide to units of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) specializing in operations against rebel groups, as well as addressing the issue of Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), whose members are blamed for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group, Rwandan presidential press secretary Stephanie Nyombayire said in a summary of the outcomes posted on Twitter.

The roadmap notably lays out actions aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, such as the reconvening of the Joint Permanent Commission to meet on July 12 in Angola.

Angolan media quoted President Lourenço as saying “there was a perfect understanding” between the presidents.

In May, tensions between the two countries escalated after DR Congo accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels, a charge Rwanda has consistently denied.

Rwanda in response accused the Congolese army of allying with its FDLR rebels.

There have been counter-accusations of rocket attacks on the shared border amid the tensions.

Last month, DR Congo said a rocket fired from Rwanda killed two children.

Kigali also accused the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of firing rockets into Rwanda.