French Presidents Emmanuel Macron, Rwandan Paul Kagame and Presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Félix Tshisekedi agreed on Wednesday during a meeting in New York
to "act in concert"
to fight against violence in the east .
of the DRC, announced the Elysée.
During an interview on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the three leaders
"expressed their concern at the resurgence of violence in eastern DRC and their determination to provide a regional and coordinated response to the threat posed by the terrorist group ADF in the region”
, indicated the French presidency in a press release.
Intensify cooperation
On Tuesday evening, Felix Tshisekedi had accused neighboring Rwanda at the UN platform of
"direct"
military
"aggression"
and
"occupation"
in the east of his country, also via Kigali's alleged support for the rebellion. M23 army.
The two African leaders, invited by Emmanuel Macron to lunch,
"agreed to act together to obtain the application of the provisions of the Luanda process as soon as possible, the withdrawal of the M23 and the cantonment of its combatants outside the area of Bunagana, with the support of the United Nations and their partners in the East African Community (EAC) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL)”
, according to the Elysée.
The three leaders also want to
"sustainably intensify their cooperation to fight against impunity and put an end to the action of armed groups in the Great Lakes region, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)"
, said we said from the same source.
Eastern DRC is home to many armed groups that have been sowing death for nearly 30 years.
One of the most active is the M23, a former Tutsi-dominated rebellion defeated in 2013, which took up arms again at the end of 2021, accusing Kinshasa of not having respected agreements on the demobilization and reintegration of its fighters.
According to a report by experts commissioned by the United Nations, consulted in August by AFP, the Rwandan army
“launched military interventions against Congolese armed groups and positions of the Congolese Armed Forces”
from November 2021. Kigali denied supporting the M23 and dismissed these
"invalid allegations".
