US pushes Kigali to exit Eastern DRC before signing peace deal
DRC and the UN accuse Rwanda of deploying troops and supporting the rebels with arms, a claim President Paul Kagame vehemently denies.
The United States is reportedly pushing for an agreement that would require Rwanda to withdraw troops from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The US has been working to end the conflict in the mineral-rich eastern DRC, where Congolese forces are battling M23 rebels, who have captured the key cities of Goma and Bukavu. DRC and the UN accuse Rwanda of deploying troops and supporting the rebels with arms, a claim President Paul Kagame vehemently denies.
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In May, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa, Massad Boulos, noted that Washington aimed to finalise a peace deal "within about two months" as part of broader efforts to stabilise the region and attract billions of dollars in Western investment.
According to Reuters, the draft peace agreement demands that Kigali withdraw all military personnel, weapons and equipment from eastern DR Congo before any deal can be signed. The undated draft agreement was reportedly authored by U.S. officials and confirmed as authentic by four diplomatic sources.
It is reportedly more detailed than an earlier agreement signed by the foreign ministers of DRC and Rwanda in April, during a ceremony in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which only stated that both countries would handle security issues respectfully and without violating each other's borders.
The draft proposes the formation of a joint security team, potentially made up of Rwandan personnel and international observers, to help tackle ongoing instability in eastern Congo.
It also urges Congo to accept M23 rebels into broader peace talks with other armed factions and Rwanda to help ensure M23 pulls out from areas it currently controls, as agreed in previous talks held in Doha, Qatar.
Rwanda reportedly deployed an estimated 4,000 troops to eastern DR Congo after M23 captured Goma and Bukavu. Although Kigali denies arming M23, it claims its military presence is a defensive measure against both DRC forces and Hutu militias tied to the 1994 genocide that targeted ethnic Tutsis.
While Rwanda is yet to formally respond to the US-drafted peace proposal, Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told Reuters that experts from both countries were expected to meet in Washington this week to review the document.
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