Congo said on Tuesday a Rwandan armed group operating in eastern Congo had signed a protocol committing to disarmament, but Rwanda rejected the move as inconsistent with a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between the two countries.
Congo’s government said the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group founded by ethnic Hutu fighters including some linked to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, had signed a protocol on disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment.
The FDLR is a central issue in a peace deal signed by Congo and Rwanda in Washington last year aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo. The agreement commits the parties to implement a plan providing for the neutralisation of the FDLR and the disengagement of Rwandan forces in eastern Congo, making progress on the group a key test of the deal.
Rwanda has long accused Congo of cooperating with the group, while Kinshasa accuses Kigali of backing AFC/M23 rebels. Fighting has continued despite the peace deal.
A copy of the protocol obtained by Reuters shows the FDLR agreeing in principle to disarm, demobilise and move into cantonment sites under a planned process, subject to security guarantees and protection from forced extradition to Rwanda.
The protocol does not specify how many fighters are covered, where cantonment sites would be located, when disarmament would begin, or whether any fighters have already surrendered weapons.
Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said the protocol was in line with the Washington agreement and represented progress toward implementing Congo’s obligations.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the protocol a delaying tactic, saying the peace deal required the FDLR’s neutralisation rather than negotiations with the group.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
