By Sonia Rolley, Daphne Psaledakis and Robbie Corey-Boulet
PARIS/WASHINGTON/DAKAR (Reuters) -Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda agreed to start implementing security measures under a U.S.-mediated deal next month, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, in what would be a key step toward carrying out the peace agreement amid concerns over lack of progress.
The countries agreed to complete the measures by the end of the year, the sources said. The implementation will begin on October 1 and operations to eliminate the threat from Congo-based armed group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and facilitate the withdrawal of Rwandan troops will begin between October 21 and 31, according to the sources.
The timeline, first reported by Reuters, offers specific dates for Rwanda and Congo to carry out the peace plan amid concerns it has faced headwinds.
The Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers signed a peace deal in Washington on June 27 and met that same day with U.S. President Donald Trump, who is keen to draw billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.
The deal included a pledge to implement a 2024 agreement that said Rwanda would lift defensive measures within 90 days.
Congolese military operations targeting the FDLR, a Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda’s former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe.
The sources said that the parties would start implementing the measures on October 1, even though the initial 2024 agreement’s 90-day deadline falls on Thursday.
One of the sources said the clock did not start ticking when the agreement was signed, but rather was meant to start with the first meeting of a new joint security coordination mechanism on August 7-8.
A Rwandan government spokesperson, a Congolese government spokesperson and the State Department had no immediate comment.
DEEP-ROOTED ISSUES
The parties agreed to an October start at meetings in Washington on September 17 and 18, the sources said.
Internal meeting notes seen by Reuters highlight the long-standing disagreements that have complicated repeated efforts to bring peace to a region riven by conflict for three decades.
One is the question of Rwanda’s relationship to M23.
The September meeting at the U.S. State Department was repeatedly bogged down in disputes over the nature of M23 and Rwanda’s relationship to it, according to the internal report.
Rwanda has long denied backing the group and says its forces act in self-defence against groups including the FDLR. But a group of United Nations experts said in a report in July that Kigali exercised command and control over the rebels.
The two sides also disagreed on the number of FDLR combatants, according to the report from the September 17-18 meeting. And while the Congolese delegation said neutralizing the FDLR required coordinated action, the Rwandan delegation said it was Kinshasa’s responsibility.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly this week, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congo and the end of Rwandan support for M23 were “non-negotiable conditions for genuine peace.”
Rwanda has said it is committed to the peace deal.
Congo is also participating in direct peace talks with M23 hosted by Qatar, though the two sides missed an August 18 deadline to reach a peace agreement.
Congo and Rwanda also have yet to set a date for heads of state to travel to Washington amid lack of progress in Doha, one of the sources said.
The leaders are expected to sign a regional economic integration framework in Washington.
A final negotiation session on the framework will take place next week, the source added.
(Reporting by Sonia Rolley in Paris, Daphne Psaledakis in Washington and Robbie Corey-Boulet in Dakar; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)
