Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Criticizes DRC Ex-Minister Over US Statement on Peace in Great

Kinshasa, March 8, 2026 - Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, criticized former DRC Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Léonard She Okitundu Lundula for distorting the US position on peace efforts in the Great Lakes Region. Okitundu Lundula, who served from December 2016 to 2019, claimed on social media that the United States had imposed sanctions on Rwandan troops supporting the AFC/M23, and urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from DRC territory, suggesting this would restore peace. Ambassador Nduhungirehe responded, emphasizing that the primary threat to peace in eastern DRC is not Rwandan troop presence but the FDLR terrorist group, composed of Rwandans involved in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, some of whom were incorporated into the FARDC. “You are misrepresenting the US Department of State statement,” Nduhungirehe said. “You have overlooked the most important directive: the United States asked the DRC to destroy the FDLR group as soon as possible.” He noted that this directive is not new. During ministerial peace talks in Luanda, Angola, the then DRC Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula presented a plan to dismantle the FDLR on June 21, 2024, which was agreed upon by Rwanda and Angola. The plan was signed by the ministers on November 25, 2025, and ratified in Washington on June 27, 2025, during the Washington Peace Accords, attended by President Félix Tshisekedi, President Paul Kagame, and Donald Trump. Ambassador Nduhungirehe expressed regret that nearly two years later, the DRC has yet to implement its commitments, while mediators continue to urge compliance. He highlighted that the government has not dismantled the FDLR, and in some cases continues to provide the group with weapons, food, and funding, which it uses in the ongoing conflict with AFC/M23 forces controlling parts of North and South Kivu.

Faits rapportés

Kinshasa, March 8, 2026 - Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, criticized former DRC Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Léonard She Okitundu Lundula for distorting the US position on peace efforts in the Great Lakes Region. Okitundu Lundula, who served from December 2016 to 2019, claimed on social media that the United States had imposed sanctions on Rwandan troops supporting the AFC/M23, and urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from DRC territory, suggesting this would restore peace. Ambassador Nduhungirehe responded, emphasizing that the primary threat to peace in eastern DRC is not Rwandan troop presence but the FDLR terrorist group, composed of Rwandans involved in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, some of whom were incorporated into the FARDC. “You are misrepresenting the US Department of State statement,” Nduhungirehe said. “You have overlooked the most important directive: the United States asked the DRC to destroy the FDLR group as soon as possible.” He noted that this directive is not new. During ministerial peace talks in Luanda, Angola, the then DRC Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula presented a plan to dismantle the FDLR on June 21, 2024, which was agreed upon by Rwanda and Angola. The plan was signed by the ministers on November 25, 2025, and ratified in Washington on June 27, 2025, during the Washington Peace Accords, attended by President Félix Tshisekedi, President Paul Kagame, and Donald Trump. Ambassador Nduhungirehe expressed regret that nearly two years later, the DRC has yet to implement its commitments, while mediators continue to urge compliance. He highlighted that the government has not dismantled the FDLR, and in some cases continues to provide the group with weapons, food, and funding, which it uses in the ongoing conflict with AFC/M23 forces controlling parts of North and South Kivu.