Political analysts in the Great Lakes region have expressed deep concern over the continued presence and influence of the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), warning that it is a major driver of ongoing violence targeting Tutsi communities in the country.
The FDLR, a group widely known to include remnants of those responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, is accused of maintaining strong ties with the Congolese government. Analysts argue that this alliance is a serious threat not only to the security of Rwanda but to the stability of the entire Great Lakes Region.
Over the past weekend, FDLR fighters reportedly joined forces with the Congolese army to launch attacks on various neighborhoods in the city of Goma. This escalation comes at a time when the Congolese government and the M23 rebel group were just beginning peace talks aimed at ending the protracted conflict in Eastern Congo.
Me Jean Baptiste Gasominari, a regional peace advocate, stated that this collaboration between the FDLR and the DRC government poses a grave risk to peace and stability. “This undermines previous regional resolutions that aimed to build lasting peace in the DRC and across the Great Lakes,” he said.
Despite mounting evidence of the FDLR’s genocidal ideology and destabilizing actions, international actors often overlook or downplay the group’s role, instead shifting blame toward Rwanda, analysts say.
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, recently reiterated Rwanda’s position on the matter. “FDLR, composed of genocide perpetrators, continues to receive support from successive governments in the DRC. Since 2018 alone, they have carried out over 20 attacks on Rwandan territory,” he stated. “People often confuse the situation, but M23 and Rwanda share a common enemy—FDLR—which has for the past 30 years been targeting Tutsi communities in Congo.”
The President of the Rwandan Senate, Dr. Kalinda François Xavier, also weighed in, describing the ongoing killings of Tutsis in the DRC as a tragic result of the FDLR’s extremist ideology, which the Congolese government continues to tolerate.
In a move to resolve the crisis, the African Union has recently appointed a new mediator—President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé of Togo—to lead diplomatic efforts toward ending the conflict in Eastern Congo.
As the violence intensifies, observers say the key to long-term peace lies in a concerted regional and international effort to disarm the FDLR and address the underlying issues fueling instability in the region.
