Government Spokesperson Yolande Makolo responded to DR Congo’s Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, saying her comparison of Rwanda’s security concerns to fear of an attack in a dark alley trivialised the FDLR’s killings and the threat to Rwandan and Congolese lives.
In a post on X, Makolo said the Congolese government was treating its financing and support for the militia lightly instead of honouring its commitment under the Washington Accords to neutralise the group.
“DRC officials touring the world to sanitize the FDLR and blame Rwanda will not deliver peace,” she wrote.
Kayikwamba’s remarks came in response to former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy, who questioned whether sanctioning Rwanda alone would help resolve the conflict in eastern DR Congo.
Nagy said President Félix Tshisekedi’s government also supported groups that threatened Rwanda and argued that Washington should sanction all those contributing to the conflict.
Kayikwamba rejected that argument, saying a perceived or real threat could not be equated with thousands of deaths and millions of people displaced.
She argued that calls to sanction both sides overlooked that distinction and suggested Congolese lives mattered less.
The exchange followed US sanctions announced on October 28 against Rwanda’s Ministry of Defence and Zigama Credit and Savings Society over alleged support for M23.
Congolese military support for the FDLR has previously drawn condemnation from the UN Security Council. In Resolution 2773, adopted in February 2025, the Council called for that support to stop and for commitments to neutralise the militia to be implemented urgently.
Neutralising the FDLR also forms part of the peace agreement Rwanda and DR Congo signed in Washington in June 2025.
The agreement provides for coordinated implementation of that commitment alongside the disengagement of forces and lifting of Rwanda’s defensive measures.
The agreement established a Joint Security Coordination Mechanism to coordinate those measures.
A separate oversight committee brings together Rwanda, DR Congo, the United States, Qatar, Togo and the African Union Commission to review implementation.
Elie GATETE
RADIOTV10