Kigali, 10 December 2025

The responsibility for ceasefire violations, ongoing attacks and fighting in South Kivu, DRC cannot be placed on Rwanda. Rwanda condemns the Congolese Army (FARDC) and the Burundian Army (FDNB), together with its coalition of the DRC-backed FDLR genocidal militias, Wazalendo and foreign mercenaries, and have been systematically bombing civilian villages close to the Rwandan border, using fighter jets and attack drones, and which the AFC/M23 has said it has been forced to counter.

As a result of this past week’s bombing of Kamanyola from Burundi, over 1000 Congolese citizens have fled across the border to Bugarama, in Western Rwanda, where they are accommodated at the Nyarushishi Transit Camp. The Burundian Army has amassed close to 20,000 troops in South Kivu in the service of the Government of DRC, and notably laid siege to Banyamulenge villages in Minembwe in a deliberate attempt to starve the residents.

The DRC has openly stated that it would not observe any ceasefire, and was fighting to recapture territories lost to AFC/M23, even as the peace process unfolded. The details of this continued pursuit of a military solution was brought to the attention of the international community, even though they had their own means of verification, and most of the information was publicly available. The international community has not demanded an end to these attacks prepared for months by the DRC and instigated in the past week.

In addition, the failure of the DRC to neutralize the FDLR as stipulated in the June 2025 Peace Agreement continues to delay the resolution of the conflict in Eastern DRC, the ultimate goal of the Washington Accords. It is now clear that the DRC was never ready to commit to peace, even as President Tshisekedi participated in the 4th December ceremony, as if forced to sign the Accords.

These deliberate violations of recently negotiated agreements constitute serious obstacles to peace, resulting in the continued suffering of the population in Eastern DRC, as well as a security threat to Rwanda’s western border.
A return to full implementation of the Washington Accords is an urgent priority, as is the conclusion of the remaining annexes of the Doha Agreement between DRC and AFC/M23. This is the most viable path forward for peace, stability and prosperity in the Great Lakes region.

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