Kinshasa — "The ceasefire agreement must be fully implemented," the Congolese Bishops' Conference demands of the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. In a statement published on August 7, the Bishops explain: "While congratulating everyone on this 'small' step forward, the Bishops' Conference recalls that this is not the first agreement signed between the governments of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo." The Congolese Bishops stress that "all previous agreements have been violated without effort and the various reports on this have not led to any sanctions."
The agreement referred to by the Bishops' Conference was announced late in the evening of July 30 by the Angolan government, which had mediated between the Congolese and Rwandans in the Angolan capital. "The second ministerial meeting between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, which took place in Luanda under the mediation of the Republic of Angola, led to the conclusion of a ceasefire that will come into force at midnight on August 4," the Angolan presidential office announced. The Democratic Republic of Congo accuses the government in Kigali of supporting the M23 rebels, who have taken over several areas in the eastern province of North Kivu, with weapons and its own troops. The Rwandan government rejects the Congolese accusations, but has promised to conclude a peace agreement with the M23 rebels. The ceasefire, however, does not seem to be sustainable. The M23 is continuing its advance and yesterday, August 7, took control of the town of Nyakakoma on Lake Eduardo, after having already taken over the town of Ishasha on the border with Uganda. For this reason, the Congolese bishops have intervened and called on the signatories to respect the Agreements called for.
Between 2022 and July 2024, the Congolese bishops carried out numerous awareness-raising campaigns to raise awareness of the Congolese crisis among international partners and encourage them to become more involved. However, in its statement, the Bishops' Conference now notes that "international partners did not consider the war in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo a priority to the same extent as the war in Ukraine or the situation in the Middle East." The war in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has regional repercussions that affect not only Rwanda (with the exception of the former Belgian Congo), but also other countries, starting with Uganda. According to the report published on August 6 by a research group at New York University, the resumption of fighting by the M23 militia in 2021, eight years after its surrender in 2013, has to do with the economic agreements signed between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, which threaten to push Rwanda out of regional trade. The reactivation of the M23 movement is seen by Kigali as a way to "exert influence against its northern neighbor Uganda," say the US researchers. However, they note that since April 2022, Rwanda and Uganda "have gradually begun to support the M23 militia together."
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