Rwanda's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said Burundi would find it difficult trying to engage in African Union-led mediation of the conflict in eastern DR Congo. Olivier Nduhungirehe noted that Burundi, whose President Evariste Ndayishimiye assumed AU chairmanship on February 14, has troops fighting alongside the Congolese government coalition in the war with the AFC/M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo. ALSO READ: Kagame, EU officials discuss DR Congo security crisis Speaking at a press conference held with visiting European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib on Thursday, February 19, emphasised the need for the mediation by Togolese leader Faure Gnassingbe and the panel of facilitators to continue without Burundi. Nduhungirehe said it was worrying that Burundi was involved in the conflict in eastern DR Congo in a negative way. He said Burundian troops had imposed a blockade on Banyamulenge community in South Kivu province, a factor that worsened the humanitarian crisis. ALSO READ: How Burundian troops in South Kivu sparked a distinct humanitarian crisis amid DR Congo’s wider war In this context, it is difficult for Burundi - although it has assumed AU chairmanship - to get involved into the mediation, he said. We have mediation of Togo mandated by the African Union, with five facilitators. We believe that those facilitators and he mediator should continue their work of supporting the parties and implementing the Washington agreement without the involvement of Burundi, which is a party to this conflict. Rwanda has for years condemned the involvement of Burundi in the conflict. This is especially because its troops are fighting alongside the Congolese government coalition that includes the FDLR, a terrorist group founded by remnants of perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Kigali also denounced Burundi's alliance with the Congolese coalition that had plans to attack Rwanda. Burundian troops have been involved in the conflict for at least two years. Some 20,000 troops are said to be deployed in eastern DR Congo and leading the offensive in some parts. In early December, the AFC/M23 rebels accused the Burundian army of shelling the town of Kamanyola in South Kivu from Bujumbura province and leading the offensive in and around Uvira city. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 announces capture of Uvira The Burundian president defends the deployment to eastern DR Congo as legitimate support for an allied country. However, the Rwandan government collaboration with DR Congo and FDLR is driven by a genocide ideology that has fueled hate speech and violence against Tutsi communities.
