Latest news with #Rwanda-backed
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Congo and Rwanda Will Sign a Peace Deal on June 27, a Major Step in Ending Fighting in Eastern Congo
AP file photo FILE – Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosts a signing ceremony in which Congo's Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, left, and Rwanda's Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, right, pledge to work toward a peace deal at the State Department in Washington, April 25, 2025. DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Congo and Rwanda will sign a peace agreement in Washington on June 27 that aims to ending fighting in eastern Congo, the two countries and the U.S. State Department said. Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels in its mineral-rich eastern region across the border with Rwanda. U.N. experts say the rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from Rwanda, which has denied backing M23. The decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu in February. The draft agreement includes 'provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities; disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups,' the joint statement said Wednesday. The agreement also includes a commitment to respecting territorial integrity and the conditional integration of non-state armed groups. Congo and Rwanda are not formally at war and in the past had held peace talks that have largely stalled, including those hosted by Qatar. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups, told The Associated Press in April that international sanctions and Congo's proposed minerals deal with the United States in search of peace would not stop the fighting. Christian Moleka, a political scientist at the Congolese think tank Dypol, told The Associated Press that he believes that the duration of the agreement will depend on 'Kinshasa's willingness to undertake structural reforms of the security apparatus, and the commitment of the international community to accompany the reforms to the end.' He added that the proposed agreement did not significantly differ from previous attempts at peace. M23 is one of about 100 armed factions vying for control in eastern Congo. But unlike the others, they are mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who failed to integrate into the Congolese army. The group says it is defending ethnic Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination, although critics say their Rwanda-backed campaign is a pretext for economic and political influence over eastern Congo. Rwanda's longtime President Paul Kagame accuses Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi of overlooking the concerns of the ethnic Tutsis and ignoring previous peace agreements.
Los Angeles Times
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Congo and Rwanda will sign a peace deal on June 27, a major step in ending fighting in eastern Congo
DAKAR, Senegal — Congo and Rwanda will sign a peace agreement in Washington on June 27 that aims to ending fighting in eastern Congo, the two countries and the U.S. State Department said. Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels in its mineral-rich eastern region across the border with Rwanda. U.N. experts say the rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from Rwanda, which has denied backing M23. The decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu in February. The draft agreement includes 'provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities; disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups,' the joint statement said Wednesday. The agreement also includes a commitment to respecting territorial integrity and the conditional integration of non-state armed groups. Congo and Rwanda are not formally at war and in the past had held peace talks that have largely stalled, including those hosted by Qatar. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups, told The Associated Press in April that international sanctions and Congo's proposed minerals deal with the United States in search of peace would not stop the fighting. M23 is one of about 100 armed factions vying for control in eastern Congo. But unlike the others, they are mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who failed to integrate into the Congolese army. The group says it is defending ethnic Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination, although critics say their Rwanda-backed campaign is a pretext for economic and political influence over eastern Congo. Rwanda's longtime President Paul Kagame accuses Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi of overlooking the concerns of the ethnic Tutsis and ignoring previous peace agreements. Mcmakin writes for the Associated Press.
Western Telegraph
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda will sign peace deal on June 27
Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels in its mineral-rich eastern region across the border with Rwanda. UN experts say the rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from Rwanda, which has denied backing M23. The decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu in February. The draft agreement includes 'provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities; disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups', the joint statement said on Wednesday. The agreement also includes a commitment to respecting territorial integrity and the conditional integration of non-state armed groups. Congo and Rwanda are not formally at war and in the past had held peace talks that have largely stalled, including those hosted by Qatar. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups, told The Associated Press in April that international sanctions and Congo's proposed minerals deal with the United States in search of peace would not stop the fighting. M23 is one of about 100 armed factions vying for control in eastern Congo. But unlike the others, they are mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who failed to integrate into the Congolese army. The group says it is defending ethnic Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination, although critics say their Rwanda-backed campaign is a pretext for economic and political influence over eastern Congo. Rwanda's long-time president Paul Kagame accuses Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi of overlooking the concerns of the ethnic Tutsis and ignoring previous peace agreements.
Irish Examiner
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda will sign peace deal on June 27
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda will sign a peace agreement in Washington on June 27 that aims to ending fighting in eastern Congo, the two countries and the US state department said. Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels in its mineral-rich eastern region across the border with Rwanda. UN experts say the rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from Rwanda, which has denied backing M23. The decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu in February. The draft agreement includes 'provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities; disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups', the joint statement said on Wednesday. The agreement also includes a commitment to respecting territorial integrity and the conditional integration of non-state armed groups. Congo and Rwanda are not formally at war and in the past had held peace talks that have largely stalled, including those hosted by Qatar. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups, told The Associated Press in April that international sanctions and Congo's proposed minerals deal with the United States in search of peace would not stop the fighting. M23 is one of about 100 armed factions vying for control in eastern Congo. But unlike the others, they are mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who failed to integrate into the Congolese army. The group says it is defending ethnic Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination, although critics say their Rwanda-backed campaign is a pretext for economic and political influence over eastern Congo. Rwanda's long-time president Paul Kagame accuses Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi of overlooking the concerns of the ethnic Tutsis and ignoring previous peace agreements.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
DR Congo and Rwanda sign draft peace agreement
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have signed a provisional agreement aimed at stopping the conflict in eastern DRC, according to a joint statement from the two countries and the United States Department of State. The development late on Wednesday in Washington, DC, came after 'three days of constructive dialogue regarding political, security, and economic interests', the statement said. The draft agreement contains provisions on issues including disarmament, the integration of non-state armed groups and the return of refugees and internally displaced people. Eastern DRC has been riven by conflict for decades, with armed groups competing for access to natural resources. Fighting in the region escalated in January when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group captured Goma, the mineral-rich area's largest city. A few weeks later, the group seized the strategic town of Bukavu. Rwanda denies supporting the rebels. Thousands of people have been killed in the region and hundreds of thousands of others displaced since the conflict intensified earlier this year. Several of the parties to the conflict have been accused of carrying out human rights abuses. In a report published in May, Amnesty International accused M23 of torturing and killing civilians. 'These acts violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes,' Amnesty said at the time. On Monday, Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said that the rebels, DRC troops and allied armed groups had all carried out human rights called on all sides 'to commit immediately to a ceasefire and resume negotiations, and to respect international humanitarian and human rights law'. The US hopes to bring an end to the fighting and to unlock billions of dollars of Western investment in the eastern DRC, which has large mineral reserves including cobalt, copper, gold and lithium. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described the twin aims of peace and investment as a 'win-win'. As part of the diplomatic efforts, Massad Boulos, the US envoy to Africa, travelled to the DRC and Rwanda in April. During his visit, he urged Kigali to end its support for the M23 rebels. Although the African countries have agreed to at least six truces since 2021, none has lasted. Angola stepped down in March from its role as mediator, with the US and Qatar currently leading efforts to secure peace in the eastern DRC. The draft agreement is due to be formally signed on June 27 by ministers from the DRC and Rwanda in the presence of Rubio.
