Intelligence experts from Rwanda, DR Congo, and Angola, concluded their discussions on the security situation in eastern DR Congo, early on Thursday, August 8, according to the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is not clear how long the meeting held at the Amphitheater of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Luanda, Angola, lasted.
ALSO READ: Tshisekedi accuses Kabila of &039;planning an insurrection'
But the meeting was a follow up to the July 30 meeting of foreign ministers from the three countries, which ordered a ceasefire in eastern DR Congo’s North Kivu Province where the Congolese army is battling the AFC/M23 rebels.
The ministers had directed the intelligence experts to examine a plan developed by the Congolese government for the neutralisation of the FDLR, a DR Congo-based militia formed by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
The proposed plan for the neutralisation of the FDLR was developed after the first meeting of the three countries’ foreign ministers in March.
ALSO READ: Rwanda raises concerns over DR Congo arming FDLR, indigenous armed groups
The intelligence experts are expected to submit their report by August 15, before the third ministerial meeting, which is also scheduled for the same month. Based in DR Congo for the past 30 years, the genocidal militia is, largely, one of the main causes of conflict in the volatile region.
For three decades, a lack of good will on the part of successive Congolese governments and lack of commitment on the part of the international community have been the major factors underlying the failure to neutralize FDLR.
A new report by the UN Group of Experts on DR Congo highlights Kinshasa’s growing use of FDLR to fight AFC/M23 rebels, thereby escalating the conflict and chaos in eastern DR Congo. The FDLR is at the heart of the insecurity affecting eastern DR Congo.
Last year, the UN report notes, Lt Gen Christian Tshiwewe, the Congolese army’s chief of staff, issued instructions banning FARDC-FDLR cooperation. But, as the UN report states, FDLR and its armed wing, FOCA, remained part of the coalition supporting the Congolese army, "and continued to be active at frontline positions,” at the request of the Congolese national army.
ALSO READ: FDLR integration into DR Congo army must be addressed – Kagame
The 45-page UN report reads: "FDLR commander Fidel Sebagenzi was the liaison between FDLR-FOCA and VDP, as well as between sanctioned FDLR-FOCA military commander ‘major-general’ Ntawunguka Pacifique alias Omega and the North Kivu Governor, Major General Cirimwami.
"The FARDC also provided military equipment and financing to FDLR-FOCA, in exchange for its role in fighting M23, in violation of the arms embargo.”
As revealed, despite all the impediments and casualties due to attacks by M23, the FDLR "remained an influential armed group in Petit Nord, with an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 combatants, regrouped in three battalions, each in charge of one of three axes: "Samariya” (Kishishe, Kalengera, Kibirizi, et Mabenga); "Jericho” (Rwindi-Nyanzale); and "Médaillon” (Sake, Mubambiro, Karuba). The FDLR-FOCA’s special intelligence unit known as the Commando de recherche et d’action en profondeur (CRAP) is estimated to comprise 350 to 500 fighters.
"In late January 2024, 600 new combatants, mostly Congolese nationals who received military training at a centre in Miyanja, Masisi territory, joined FDLR-FOCA ranks to compensate for the numerous combatants lost in combat.”
The genocidal militia continues to finance itself from the exploitation of charcoal and wooden planks in Virunga National Park (VNP), kidnappings for ransom and illegally collected taxes at checkpoints, as revealed in a 2022 report by Pole Institute – a non-governmental organization operating in DR Congo.
The report showed that the economic empire of the FDLR is based on three pillars – the deforestation of Virunga National Park, poaching, and collection of royalties for agriculture as well as transport exploitation.
ALSO READ: UN official renews call to hold genocidaires in DR Congo accountable
The Angola-mediated negotiations between Rwanda and DR Congo, known as the Luanda Process, were initiated in mid-2022 after the two countries’ relations took a hit from the conflict between the Congolese army and the M23 rebel.
On the same day, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa travelled to Angola to meet his host Joao Lourenço, "reflect on the bilateral relationship between the two countries,” and discuss the crisis in eastern DR Congo.
South Africa leads a military mission of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in eastern DR Congo.
In February, Ramaphosa ordered the deployment of 2,900 soldiers to eastern DR Congo despite objections by his country’ main opposition party.