The fragile peace process between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is under renewed pressure, as the United States imposes fresh sanctions over alleged links to mineral trafficking from areas controlled by M23 rebels. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe tells RFI Kigali is being unfairly blamed – arguing that the Congolese government has failed to meet its own commitments under the US-brokered peace deal.
The eastern DRC has been torn apart by decades of conflict involving the country's army and more than 100 armed groups competing for land, power and valuable minerals such as gold and coltan, a mineral used in mobile phones and laptops. The M23 rebel group controls large swathes of eastern Congo – a group the DRC, the United Nations and several Western governments say Rwanda supports, which Kigali denies. For its part, Rwanda says its main security threat is the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi people in Rwanda – and accuses the Congolese government of failing to dismantle it. A peace agreement signed in Washington on 27 June, 2025, was meant to address both sides’ concerns. The DRC agreed to dismantle the FDLR, while Rwanda agreed to withdraw its forces and end its alleged support for M23.
