July 6. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, have agreed on Wednesday a ceasefire in the border area between the two African nations.
This has been the main result of the meeting that both leaders have held in Angola and that has had the mediation of the president of that country, Joao Lourença, who has advanced the agreement, according to the Angolan news agency Angop and Radio Okapi.
“I am happy to announce that we have made progress, since we have agreed to a ceasefire,” announced the Angolan head of state after the meeting, in which they agreed to promote a truce observation mechanism headed by an official from Angola.
Precisely this Wednesday, Tshisekedi had warned of the danger of a war with Rwanda if Kigali maintains “its provocations”, amid a rise in tensions due to the alleged support of the Rwandan authorities for the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23).
According to the Congolese head of state, the rise in M23 operations in recent months “is due to the Rwandan Army, which is hiding behind the group”, and has accused Kigali of wanting to take advantage of the natural wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
For his part, Kagame said on Monday that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)–an armed rebel group founded and made up mainly of Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide in the African country–receive support from the Congolese Army, a theory rejected by Tshisekedi.
Relations between the DRC and Rwanda have gone through moments of crisis since the massive arrival in eastern DRC of Rwandan Hutus accused of having massacred the Tutsis during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. After a certain stage of diplomatic relaxation, the conflict regained intensity in May, when the Congolese government summoned the Rwandan ambassador to denounce the country’s alleged support for the M23.
The M23 has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against Army positions in North Kivu, despite the fact that the Congolese authorities and the M23 signed a peace agreement in December 2013 after the combats registered since 2012 with the Army, which was supported by United Nations troops. UN experts accused Uganda and Rwanda of supporting the rebels, although both countries denied this.
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