Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, has dismissed remarks by Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi, who told the United Nations that a genocide was unfolding in eastern Congo.
Speaking at the 80th UN General Assembly on September 24, President Tshisekedi urged the international community to acknowledge what he called a “silent genocide” in the eastern provinces of his country. He did not specify which group was being targeted but insisted the violence was beyond the scale of an ordinary conflict.
Responding on his official X account, Minister Nduhungirehe accused Tshisekedi of deflecting responsibility for atrocities allegedly carried out by the Congolese army (FARDC) and allied militias. “He has an army that collaborates with and integrates members of the FDLR the Rwandan genocidal militia into the FARDC, alongside Nyatura and other ethnically based groups. He even created and armed the militia known as Wazalendo,” Nduhungirehe wrote.
The minister pointed to documented attacks by these groups, including the burning of more than 300 homes belonging to Congolese Tutsis in Nturo village, Masisi Territory, in October 2023. He also cited incidents in which militias killed civilians, burned people alive, and threatened Congolese Tutsis with expulsion. “He remained silent when videos circulated of children armed by Wazalendo being asked if they were ready to kill Rwandans. He did not react when Wazalendo leaders gave Congolese Tutsis, including Banyamulenge, ten days to leave DRC and ‘return to Rwanda,’” Nduhungirehe added.
Meanwhile, peace talks between the Congolese government and the M23 rebel group continue in Doha, Qatar, but heavy fighting persists. According to M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, FARDC used Sukhoi-25 fighter jets and CH-4 drones to bomb civilian-populated areas in North Kivu on September 19. “Kinshasa’s regime committed massacres and grave war crimes by targeting heavily populated areas of Bibwe, Chysto, Hembe, and surrounding villages,” Kanyuka said in a statement.
Nduhungirehe argued that Tshisekedi had no basis to accuse others of genocide while the Congolese army and its allied militias commit atrocities. “After all this, he dares to stand before the United Nations and accuse others of genocide?” he wrote.
The escalating conflict has cast doubt on the DRC’s commitment to the Washington peace agreement signed with Rwanda in June 2025, while the Doha talks with M23 have yet to yield concrete progress.
Author: Justinmind HARERIMANA
