(Al Jazeera Media Network) Rwandan President Paul Kagame has cautiously welcomed a United States-brokered peace deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while suggesting Kigali will retaliate if provoked.
Speaking at a news conference in Kigali on Friday, Kagame said Rwanda remained committed to the agreement but questioned whether Kinshasa would uphold its part of the deal.
“If the side that we are working with plays tricks and takes us back to the problem, then we deal with the problem like we have been dealing with it,” Kagame said.
The agreement, backed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, was signed last week and calls for Rwandan troops to withdraw from eastern DRC within 90 days.
The region has seen intense fighting this year, with M23 rebels seizing major towns. The United Nations has accused Rwanda of backing the group with thousands of troops – an allegation Kigali denies.
While the peace deal is seen as a turning point, analysts do not believe it will quickly end the fighting because M23 – a major belligerent in the conflict – says the agreement does not apply to it.
Rwanda insists its military presence in eastern DRC is a response to threats from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group made up of ethnic Hutu fighters linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Kagame said Kinshasa must act to dismantle the FDLR if the deal is to succeed.
“We are grateful to the Trump administration for its efforts,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, they aren’t the ones to blame.”
There has been no official response from Kinshasa, which has consistently accused Rwanda of fuelling the conflict.
Rwanda-backed M23 is the most prominent armed group in the conflict in eastern DRC, and its major advance early this year left bodies on the streets. With 7 million people displaced in DRC, the UN has called it “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”
M23 has not been involved in the US-mediated efforts, although it has been part of other peace talks. On Thursday, both the Congolese government and M23 representatives agreed that they would return to Qatar for further discussions aimed at ending the conflict.
Meanwhile, Washington has proposed a separate investment plan that could allow western companies to tap into the region’s rich deposits of tantalum, copper, and gold – resources that have long fuelled violence in eastern DRC.
Kagame’s appearance on Friday marked his first public remarks since June 6, prompting speculation during his absence about his health. Dissidents abroad, including former adviser David Himbara, claimed the president was seriously unwell.
Kagame dismissed the rumours with a joke. “Some of my personal health problems might originate from managing you people,” he said, sparking laughter.
“What is the problem? What would people want me to account for? That I am not human?” he added. The president appeared in good health throughout the briefing.
