KEY POINTS
- Rwanda, Congo begin oversight talks on U.S.-backed deal.
- Peace deal delayed despite the meeting timeline being met.
- FDLR and troop pullouts yet to be implemented.
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo convened the first meeting of their joint oversight committee Thursday, moving to implement a U.S.-brokered peace deal signed in June. The agreement, hailed as a breakthrough, aims to ease years of deadly tensions in a mineral-rich region often caught in cross-border conflict.
The meeting, held in Washington and attended by representatives from the U.S., African Union, and Qatar, came within the 45-day deadline laid out in the deal. But core parts of the agreement—such as the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and joint military coordination—remain stalled beyond agreed timelines.
Troop withdrawal and FDLR plans still pending
The deal had set a 30-day deadline for forming a joint security mechanism and a 90-day timeline for Rwanda to pull troops from eastern Congo. Neither has happened.
Congolese military operations against the FDLR—a group tied to perpetrators of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide—were supposed to be wrapped up within the same timeframe. That, too, is pending.
According to Reuters, sources familiar with the negotiations say delays are being quietly acknowledged, but both parties remain committed. Fighting has not subsided in eastern Congo, where rival forces, including M23 rebels and Wazalendo militia, are reportedly reinforcing positions.
Peace deal implementation remains slow and uneven
Senior Trump adviser on African affairs, Massad Boulos, insisted the peace deal isn’t off track. “If you look at the chronology… it’s been very much in line with our aspirations,” he said Wednesday, hinting that announcements on the joint security body were imminent.
Still, U.S. officials and diplomats acknowledge delays. Rwanda’s withdrawal and FDLR-related operations have yet to commence, more than a month after the agreement was signed.
Despite this, the U.S. remains publicly optimistic. “There was no timeline for that,” Boulos added, referring to military action.
