DRC : FARDC urges FDLR to lay down arms as part of the Washington agreement

SOS Médias Burundi

Goma, October 11, 2025 — Amid persistent tensions in eastern DRC, the FARDC is calling on the FDLR to lay down their arms, while links between some Congolese soldiers and these rebels continue to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the break. The challenge : testing Kinshasa’s political will and move toward regional stabilization.

The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) issued a solemn appeal on Friday, October 10, to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), urging them to lay down their arms and surrender to the Congolese authorities or to MONUSCO (the United Nations Mission in Congo), with a view to their repatriation to Rwanda.

This approach is part of the implementation of the operational order adopted on October 1, 2025, by the Joint Supervisory Committee of the Washington Agreement, signed between the DRC and Rwanda under the mediation of the United States on June 27. This agreement aims to defuse persistent tensions in eastern Congo, a region scarred by decades of armed violence.

In its statement, the Congolese army also reminded its troops of the formal prohibition of any collaboration with the FDLR, regardless of its level or nature.

Doubts about the effective break with the FDLR

This statement, however, contrasts with several reports by United Nations experts, which highlight the persistence of links between certain elements of the FARDC and the FDLR. These reports notably mention the integration, within the Wazalendo militias maintained by Kinshasa, of former FDLR combatants or units still active under this rebel label.

The FDLR, descended from the Hutu militias responsible for the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda, are among the most violent armed groups in the region. They are accused of war crimes, massacres of civilians, sexual violence, and forced recruitment in the DRC.

A test of political will

This appeal by the FARDC comes in a particularly tense regional context, where mistrust between Kinshasa and Kigali remains high. The success of the process initiated in Washington will depend on the Congolese authorities’ ability to sever all ties with foreign armed groups and restore strict discipline within their army.

For many observers, this initiative constitutes a test of President Félix Tshisekedi’s political will, but also a signal to the international community, concerned about lasting peace in the Great Lakes region.

A fragile balance in the east

The FDLR, composed mostly of Rwandan Hutus who fled after 1994, continues to be described as “genocidal” by Kigali. Since late January 2025, the M23, a rebel movement affiliated with the Congo River Alliance (AFC), has controlled several urban centers in North and South Kivu, areas rich in strategic minerals.

The M23 has pushed back the FARDC, Burundian forces, the Wazalendo, as well as SADC (Southern African Development Community) contingents, establishing a parallel administration in the territories under its control.

Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of providing direct military support to the M23, an allegation Kigali firmly rejects. For its part, Rwanda accuses the Congolese authorities of continuing to collaborate with the FDLR. President Félix Tshisekedi, however, downplays their influence, calling the group a “residual force” reduced to acts of banditry without posing a real regional threat.