Rwanda's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb. Martin Ngoga, has urged the Security Council to take stock of the situation in DR Congo's South Kivu province, where the Tutsi communities face extermination at the hands of the government and its allies. Speaking during a Security Council briefing on the UN mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) on Friday, December 12, Ngoga said the extension of its mandate in the conflict-ridden country should take into consideration the Washington Peace Agreement and the Doha Framework, two complementary tracks that seek to restore peace. ALSO READ: UN peacekeeping missions need realistic mandates, says Rwandan envoy As the Council considers MONUSCO’s next mandate, Rwanda expects a mission that is clearly anchored in, and reinforcing of, the Washington Peace Agreement and the Doha Framework—both of which the Secretary-General’s report rightly identifies as the central avenues for a sustainable peace, Ngoga said, referring to the two peace processes between Rwanda and DR Congo, and DR Congo and the AFC/M23 rebels, respectively. He urged for strict impartiality and political neutrality, support to ceasefire implementation and political dialogue, among other principles, as the mandate of MONUSCO is poised to be extended for another year. ALSO READ: How Burundian troops in South Kivu sparked a distinct humanitarian crisis amid DR Congo’s wider war Shifting to South Kivu, Ngoga said the events in the province cannot be ignored because they mirror the lead-up to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Over the past year—and, in reality, since 2017—the Banyamulenge, a Tutsi Kinyarwanda-speaking community of the DRC, have endured a well-documented, systematic, and escalating persecution, said the Rwandan envoy. This, he said, was sone by Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and their allied militias. He noted that since 2017, over 85% of Banyamulenge villages in South Kivu have been destroyed, with an estimated 700,000 cattle, their economic lifeline, raided and killed. On 25 August 2025, he said, Wazalendo militias and FARDC issued a 10-day ultimatum demanding all Banyamulenge leave Uvira or be killed, and barred them from markets, water, and other essential means of survival. On 4 September 2025, Banyamulenge civilians were denied access to public water points on the grounds that they were “enemies.” On 5–8 September 2025, Banyamulenge civilians were abducted and shot while mobs chanted for the “end of the Banyamulenge.” These are early-warning indicators of discrimination, dehumanization, forced displacement, and denial of basic services, Ngoga said. He noted that the situation had been exacerbated by the deployment of Burundian troops, foreign mercenaries, and the collaboration between the Congolese army and the FDLR, a militia linked to the Genocide against the Tutsi. These troops established coordinated military blockades which exacerbated the situation above. Their operations alongside FARDC, FDLR and affiliated militias that imposed a siege on Banyamulenge communities, he said. I want to highlight here that there are many ethnic groups in that area, but these conditions were only imposed on the Banyamulenge Tutsi ethnic group. This resulted in nearly a year-long siege, depriving them of food, medicine, and humanitarian access. The Congolese government coalition, he said, was responsible for closing the only road to the Mitamba market was cutting off food supplies on October 16-18. On December 6, he recalled, a group of 80–100 Banyamulenge civilians—mostly women returning with food for starving families—were ambushed by a FARDC–Burundian–Mai-Mai coalition. Reports indicate killings, torture, and sexual violence, he said. Equally well known—but disregarded—is the scale of air attacks carried out by DRC forces and their allies, Ngoga said, noting that at least 50 air attacks had been carried out in the area, including on IDP camps. As the inviting authority, the Government of the DR Congo bears responsibility for the conduct of Burundian forces and their allied militias, he argued. He noted that Rwanda had not remained silent about the situation facing Banyamulenge, having raised it with various international organizations, including the UN, European Union and African Union as well as Security Council members. Nothing has been done, lamented Ngoga. So, I ask, respectfully but firmly, Has the Security Council not been aware of this situation, or did it not merit your attention? He also stressed Rwanda's security concerns about the existence of the Kinshasa-backed FDLR militia. The existence of FDLR threatens not only Rwanda’s security and territorial integrity, but its very existence, he said. This is not abstract for us. In 1994, one of my uncles paid money to be killed by a bullet rather than by a machete. Such was the horror inflicted by the same forces that continue to operate today. Therefore, you can decide not to care about Rwanda’s security threat, or these communities we speak on behalf of, but should we also ask them to be part of the plan of their own extermination? Can we go that far?
