The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo has said the US-brokered peace deal between his country and Rwanda will only be implemented if Rwanda withdraws all its troops from Congolese territory.
President Felix Tshisekedi made the statement hours before the highly anticipated signing of the deal in Washington, DC.
Tensions between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda remain high despite mediation efforts by the United States to end the conflict in eastern DRC.
The presidents of the two countries are set to meet US President Donald Trump and sign a peace agreement on Thursday.
But just a day before the signing, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said the US-brokered peace deal will only be implemented if Rwandan forces completely withdraw from DRC territory.
According to UN experts, Rwanda sent more than 6 000 soldiers to support the M23 rebels to capture key cities in eastern DRC earlier this year.
The experts also found that the DRC government supported the FDLR militia – a Rwandan group of ethnic Hutus who carried out the 1994 Rwandan genocide that targeted Tutsis.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has maintained that he will only withdraw his troops from eastern DRC after the threat of the FDLR is eradicated.
The war of words between the two leaders casts a long shadow over the restoration of peace in eastern DRC.
In recent weeks, fighting has intensified between Congolese government forces and the M23 rebels in North and South Kivu provinces.
The latest clashes have forced hundreds of people to flee their homes and worsened the humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC.
