The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda sent back to back. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on August 11 called on the Congolese and Rwandan governments to stop supporting armed groups in eastern DRC during a visit to Rwanda, the third and final leg of his tour of sub-Saharan Africa which took him to South Africa and the DRC.
“There are credible reports of support for armed groups by all parties, including the FDLR (Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda) by the Congolese forces and the M23 (March 23 Movement) by the Rwandan forces”, Antony Blinken said after talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali, the Rwandan capital. The FDLR are Rwandan Hutu rebels and the M23 is a group mainly composed of Congolese Tutsis.
“Our position is clear: support for any armed group must end. This is not one group against another. The basic principle is that there should be no support from governments and armed forces. armies to armed groups such as the M23 and the FDLR”added the head of the American diplomacy.
Antony Blinken said he had raised with President Kagame the issue of alleged support for the M23, recently raised by a confidential report by experts commissioned by the United Nations. Rwanda rejected these “invalid claims” and advanced sound “right to defend one’s territory”. The day before in Kinshasa, the American diplomat had expressed the concerns of the United States on information “credible” linking the Rwandan army to the M23.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta declined to comment on Antony Blinken’s remarks. He reiterated Kigali’s position by asserting that the “fundamental problem” of the FDLR needed to be addressed to achieve a lasting solution in eastern DRC.
The region is home to many armed groups that have been sowing death for almost thirty years. One of the most active in recent months is the M23, a former rebellion defeated in 2013, which took up arms again at the end of last year, accusing Kinshasa of not having respected agreements on the demobilization and reintegration of its fighters.
In South Africa, the first stage of his tour, Antony Blinken unveiled the main lines of the new African policy of the United States. Washington intends to implement a strategy on the continent that takes into account, among other things, “His power and influence“.
The United States wants a “true partnership” with Africa and do not seek to “surpass” the influence of other world powers on the continent, China and Russia in the lead. “What we seek above all is a true partnership between the United States and Africa. We do not want an unbalanced or transactional relationship”said the US Secretary of State during a press briefing with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor in Pretoria.
This new American strategy, which recognizes in passing the growing demographic importance of Africa, its weight in the United Nations as well as its immense natural resources and its opportunities, comes at a time when the emphasis placed by the United States on the military fight against extremist groups in Africa is criticized for its ineffectiveness. An American-African summit is scheduled for December 13 in Washington..