President Paul Kagame attended a mini-summit hosted by President João Lourenço of Angola at the African Union Headquarters, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, late Friday, February 16, to address the root causes of the ongoing insecurity in eastern DR Congo, including bad governance, ethnic discrimination and violence, according to Urugwiro Village.
African leaders are in Addis to attend the 37th AU Summit.
Other regional leaders in attendance included President William Ruto of Kenya, the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Amb Moussa Faki Mahamat, DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This evening at the African Union Headquarters, President Kagame attended a mini-summit hosted by President João Lourenço @jlprdeangola of Angola to address the root causes of the ongoing insecurity in eastern DRC, including bad governance, ethnic discrimination and violence. pic.twitter.com/WbCAr1rejR-- Presidency | Rwanda (@UrugwiroVillage) February 16, 2024
Reports indicate that, among other things, leaders from the Great Lakes Region are attempting to stem the latest violence in DR Congo, taking advantage of the African Union Summit in Ethiopia this weekend.
ALSO READ: South Africa sends 2,900 troops to DR Congo despite censure by main opposition party
South Africa sent troops to eastern DR Congo as part of a regional force of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which was deployed in December 2023 to help the Congolese army fight the M23 rebels.
Kigali asked the UN to reconsider its intended support to SADC's military mission in conflict-ridden eastern DR Congo, as the southern African bloc's decision would be based on the "wrong premises" and could be in favour of forces set against Rwanda's security. According to Kigali, the SADC mission known as SAMIDRC is "not a neutral" force in the conflict in eastern DR Congo, where a government-led coalition fights the M23 rebels, despite the presence of more than 200 armed groups in the region. The Congolese government coalition now comprises, among others, SADC troops, Burundian forces, the Rwandan genocidal FDLR militia, European mercenaries, and a host of Congolese militia groups.
President Lourenço is the mediator for the AU-backed Luanda Process, an initiative of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), which seeks to address the conflict in eastern DR Congo and the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Rwanda and DR Congo.
ALSO READ: Rwanda raises concerns over DR Congo arming FDLR, indigenous armed groups
DR Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels in its eastern region - allegations Kigali dismisses.
Warplanes of the Congolese army violated Rwanda's airspace three times between November 2022 and January 2023, incidents which the Rwandan government said were among many other provocations by the Congolese government.
During his campaign for re-election in 2023, President Tshisekedi said he would declare war on Rwanda.
ALSO READ: We shall defend Rwanda at all cost - Kagame
ALSO READ: Belgian FM asks DR Congo to end ties with FDLR
Rwanda also accuses DR Congo's armed forces of collaborating with the UN-sanctioned militia FDLR, which was founded by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
ALSO READ: New footage suggests FDLR fighting alongside DR Congo army
The FDLR is part of a Congolese government coalition fighting the M23 rebels. The FDLR is accused of spreading violence and genocide ideology targeting Congolese Tutsi communities in eastern DR Congo.
Rwanda has, for years, called on the Congolese government to end the collaboration with the FDLR, which has launched attacks on Rwandan territory over the past two decades. In 2019, fighters of RUD Urunana, one of FDLR factions, killed 14 civilians in Musanze District in Northern Province.
Despite denial of the cooperation with the FDLR, the Congolese armed forces in November 2023 ordered its soldiers to end ties with members of the terrorist group.
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But reports say the group has been integrated into the Congolese army.
South African opposition leader Julius Malema has said his country's armed forces should not be fighting in eastern DR Congo. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, February 15, following the death of two South African soldiers in DR Congo, the leader of South Africa's second-largest opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), said members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were "not properly trained" and "must come back home."
Earlier, in January, South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, described as a "reckless decision" the country's deployment of troops to eastern DR Congo as part of a regional mission by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Eastern DR Congo has been volatile for nearly 30 years. The provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri are home to more than 130 armed groups that are accused of atrocities and human rights violations.
Multiple regional and international interventions have failed to end decades of insecurity.
