The United States is pushing for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) within the coming weeks, setting June or July as a target date for a breakthrough in the ongoing conflict in the Great Lakes region.
Troy Fitrell, the U.S. Special Envoy for the region, revealed during an online conference that technical teams are already on the ground, working to turn agreed principles into practical commitments. “We’ve done these principles. Now we have been arguing about putting these principles into action,” Fitrell said, urging swift progress. “There is no sense fooling around on this. If we are going to do it, we do it now.”
Efforts to broker peace suffered a setback in May when a scheduled meeting between the foreign ministers of Rwanda and the DRC was called off, underlining the fragile state of relations between the two countries.
In addition to the U.S.-led efforts, Qatar is mediating a parallel dialogue between Kinshasa and the M23 rebel group. Delegations were recently recalled for further discussions following initial consultations this week. The Qatar-led initiative aims to address the conflict in eastern Congo, where M23 has taken control of several areas.
Tensions between the DRC and Rwanda remain high. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of backing the M23 rebels—an allegation Rwanda strongly denies.
