Democratic Republic of Congo

DRC Says FDLR Agrees to Disarm, Rwanda Rejects Deal

Is this a genuine peace breakthrough or a cynical dodge of obligations under the Washington agreement?

Published 1 hour ago

DRC Says FDLR Agrees to Disarm, Rwanda Rejects Deal

Story

Above: FDLR, Wazalendo and FARDC fighters gather at Stade de l'Unité in Goma on May 10, 2025. Image credit: Jospin Mwisha/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-government narrative

Congo took a concrete step by securing the FDLR's signed commitment to disarm, demobilize and accept cantonment — exactly the kind of progress the Washington peace framework requires. Rwanda's flat rejection of the protocol, while its own forces remain in eastern Congo, exposes Kigali's real agenda: keeping the FDLR threat alive as cover for continued military intervention. Congo even filed at the ICJ to hold Rwanda accountable for backing M23 rebels.

Africanews BBC News ChimpReports

Government-critical narrative

Kinshasa's FDLR disarmament protocol is a deliberate stunt to dodge its real obligation under the Washington agreement — verifiable neutralization of a U.N.-sanctioned genocidal militia. Dressing up a negotiated deal with genocide perpetrators as progress insults international law and the memory of 1994. The Washington accord never called for dialogue with FDLR; it demanded irreversible dismantlement, and no signed protocol changes that.

The New Times Standardmedia

Yolande Makolo on X