Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Vincent Biruta, on Wednesday, February 1, met with the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, in Washington. They discussed regional security issues of mutual interest, including “how to arrest the deteriorating situation” in eastern DR Congo, Ned Price, the spokesperson of the US State Department, said in a statement. ALSO READ: Kenyatta calls urgent meeting as DR Congo situation worsens Price said Deputy Secretary Sherman underscored U.S. support for regional mediation on eastern DR Congo and dialogue led by Angola and the East African Community and stressed the importance of action by all parties to end military conflict and accelerate the political process. Biruta and Sherman also discussed ways to promote stability in the Central African Republic, where Rwandan troops are deployed on bilateral and UN peacekeeping missions. ALSO READ: Rwanda ‘not surprised’ by DR Congo expelling officers from regional body Biruta’s meeting with Sherman comes a week after fighting between the Congolese armed forces and M23 rebels again broke out in North Kivu province, casting a shadow over prospects of a peace agreement signed in November 2022 in Luanda, Angola. The Luanda agreement signed by regional leaders, including DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, asked the M23 rebels to withdraw from their occupied positions. The rebels, in December 2022, started pulling out of their earlier captured positions. Before the renewed fighting started, the M23 rebels had started to implement the Luanda agreement, with their withdrawal from occupied positions in Kibumba and the Rumangabo military camp, and others. The positions vacated by the rebels are occupied by the East African Community regional force that was deployed in November 2022 to support regional efforts to restore peace in eastern DR Congo. But the rebels started fighting again, recently, after the Congolese army kept threatening them in spite of the commitments set in the Luanda agreement. ALSO READ: More Congolese refugees flee to Rwanda as fighting renews In Luanda, Tshisekedi had also signed and agreed to commit to disarming the FDLR militia – which poses a security threat to Rwanda and the region – and initiating a mechanism for the repatriation of tens of thousands of Congolese refugees who live in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya, among other countries. Kinshasa has not made any effort to fulfil its part of the bargain, which has irked regional countries like Rwanda. ALSO READ: DR Congo ignored Luanda agreement – Minister Biruta On January 30, the Congolese government expelled Rwandan military officers who worked in the headquarters of the regional force. Commenting on the expulsion, Amb. Macharia Kamau, Kenya’s former Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said it was “hugely unfortunate.” “This is not consistent with the aspirations of the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes,” Kamau tweeted.
