Rwandans living on the border with DR Congo have spent 12 months without the direct security posed by Kinshasa-backed genocidal militia FDLR for over 30 years. This is thanks to the capture of Goma city by the AFC/M23 in late January 2025. The fall of the capital of North Kivu province in eastern DR Congo was a major blow to the Congolese government coalition that included the FDLR, Burundian troops, SADC forces and mercenaries, who had plans to invade Rwanda. FDLR attacks over the years killed civilians in Rwanda. One such attack happened in 2019, when one of its factions, RUD-Urunana, killed 14 civilians in Kinigi, Musanze District. ALSO READ: Inside FDLR’s frontline base 3km from Rwanda border Before the fall of Goma, FDLR members sometimes attacked people in Bugeshi and Cyanzwe sectors bordering the DR Congo, Agnes Muhawenimana, a resident of Rubavu District, told The New Times. But people have been safe since when Nyiragongo territory fell under M23 control. The 65-year-old cross-border trader recalled the situation was even worse for any Rwandan, as the Congolese soldiers and their allied FDLR would target them. Crossing into Goma used to be another story, she said. Soldiers could arrest you and mistreat you simply for being Rwandan or a Kinyarwanda speaker. Today, people cross into Goma for business and return without harm. There is a significant change, for sure. ALSO READ: DR Congo: A look back at major events after the fall of Goma After the AFC/M23 took control of the Goma and its surroundings, its appointed new provincial administration and put in place more flexible border patrol measures, allowing trade between Rubavu and Goma. Opening hours at the border were extended until midnight, from 3PM when the government controlled the city. An estimated 50,000 crossings are reported daily at the Rwanda-DR Congo border points, according to local officials. Everything is okay today, said Emmy Imanishimwe, a businessman in Gisenyi Sector. There has been safety since January, when M23 captured Goma town and areas near Rwanda., and security has significantly improved. This is evident in the reduction of corruption cases at the Rwanda-DR Congo border, which used to be widespread when crossing into Goma. The AFC/M23 also handed over FDLR fighters captured during fighting. Hundreds of them have been handed over to the Rwandan government. One notable case is the repatriation of Gen Jean Baptiste Ezechiel Gakwerere, a suspect in the 1994 murder of Queen Rosalie Gicanda. Thousands of Rwandan civilians, who had been held hostage by FDLR, have also been facilitated to return home. More than 5,600 have voluntarily returned under an arrangement backed by the UN Refugee Agency. But FDLR is not gone yet Despite the security at the border, the FDLR is still active and fighting alongside the Congolese army in the war with AFC/M23. ALSO READ: FDLR integration into DR Congo army must be addressed – Kagame In a recent letter to US Congress, Rwanda's Ambassador to Washington said defensive measures will remain in place to prevent the FDLR threat from materialising. She noted that FDLR is the root cause of the insecurity in the region and still carries genocide ideology, inherited from its founders who perpetrated the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The genocidal insurgency that began in 1994 has not been defeated—it has been sustained, protected, and at times actively supported by successive Congolese governments. The scale of this threat, and its impact on Rwanda’s subsequent security doctrines, cannot be overstated, Mukantabana said. ALSO READ: Rwanda's defensive measures to remain 'until FDLR threat is gone' As she commended the US governnemt for brokering the Washington Accords that seek to end the conflict, the ambassador noted that the Congolese government must honour its commitment to disarm the FDLR, under the Concept fo Operations (CONOPS), for peace to reign in the eastern DR Congo and the region. As Kinshasa fulfills its core obligations, especially the neutralization and repatriation of FDLR fighters, the dismantling of FDLR command structures embedded within FARDC operations, and the cessation of support to associated militias, she said, Rwanda commits to a phased, simultaneous, and independently verified drawdown of its security coordination measures with AFC/M23, in direct proportion to FDLR disarmament milestones, culminating in complete termination upon full CONOPS implementation. Mukantabana said Rwanda is compelled to maintain defensive capabilities until credible security assurances are established, until the [FDLR] threat is gone, once and for all.
