Rwanda raises doubts over DR Congo’s operations against FDLR armed group

The FDLR presence is among the key issues in the Washington accords signed last year, aimed at achieving lasting peace and prosperity in the region.

Speaking at a military parade in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province, on Sunday, Deputy Commander of the Congolese military Gen. Jacques Ychaligonza called on FDLR members to "voluntarily lay down their arms in order to avoid unnecessary human losses," pending repatriation to their country of origin.

The move came days after Congolese and Rwandan officials met in Washington on March 17-18 and agreed on concrete steps toward further implementation of last year's accords, including the scheduled disengagement of forces and lifting of defensive measures by Rwanda in defined areas of Congolese territory, as well as time-bound and intensified efforts by Kinshasa to neutralize the FDLR.

Reacting to the Congolese military announcement, Nduhungirehe said he would comment only on "concrete results on the ground, not on this umpteenth promise."

"Not the first time that they 'announce'. The Washington Accords are about actions, not endless promises, never followed by actions," he told Anadolu.

In November 2025, the Congolese military directed FDLR militias in eastern Congo to disarm and surrender to government authorities or the UN mission in Congo (MONUSCO), threatening forced disarmament for those who refused to comply.

General Ychaligonza said Sunday that combatants who choose to surrender will be grouped at a cantonment site set up in Kisangani, adding that the operation against the FDLR is part of the military's "strategy to neutralize the armed groups active in the east of the country, while promoting voluntary disarmament solutions."

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, while addressing members of the diplomatic corps in Kigali recently, underlined that Rwanda's security concerns stem from the continued presence of the FDLR in Congo and its violent extremist ideology. AA