A new disarmament deal signed between the DR Congo government and the FDLR militia has been criticised by Rwandan officials and political analysts as an attempt by Kinshasa to buy time and avoid implementing its obligations under the Washington Accords. ALSO READ: Nduhungirehe slams Kinshasa-FDLR protocol The Washington Accords of December 4, 2025, require the neutralisation of the UN- and US-sanctioned terrorist group that threatens Rwanda’s security rather than negotiations with it. Analysts argued that Kinshasa’s latest move also reinforces accusation of cooperation between the Congolese government and the militia. The armed group was founded by remnants of perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. DR Congo’s Minister of Communication and Government Spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said on July 28 that the protocol for disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment of the FDLR was “in accordance with the Washington Accords” and the Concept of Operations (CONOPS). Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Olivier Nduhungirehe said the new move was a “crude manipulation by Kinshasa” at a time the Congolese government “has not only intensified its military support for the FDLR ...but has also accelerated the political organization of this genocidal movement.” ALSO READ: Rwanda, DR Congo officials review progress of Washington peace deal Rwanda’s Government Spokesperson Yolande Makolo also rejected Muyaya’s framing of the new Kinshasa-FDLR deal. “The Washington Agreement calls for the neutralisation of the FDLR — not a negotiated protocol with a genocidal militia that the DRC government continues to arm and collaborate with,” Makolo wrote on X on Thursday. She said announcements of voluntary disarmament while the FDLR remains embedded within the Congolese army coalition and active on the frontlines “change nothing.” “Implementation means verifiable dismantlement, not theatre,” Makolo said, adding that Rwanda remains focused on implementing the agreement. ALSO READ: Former FDLR deputy president on how genocidal militia was formed The militia has operated in eastern DR Congo for decades and is accused of carrying out attacks against civilians, spreading genocide ideology and persecuting Congolese Tutsi communities. It has also launched cross-border attacks on Rwanda, including a 2019 assault by its RUD-Urunana faction which killed 14 civilians in Musanze District. Jean Baptiste Gasominari, a political analyst, said presenting the protocol as implementation of the Washington Accords was misleading because the US-brokered process does not envisage negotiations with the FDLR. “The agreements do not state that neutralisation will be carried out between the government of DR Congo and the FDLR. So, what they are saying that it is linked to the Washington Accords is a lie, it is political propaganda,” he said. Gasominari noted that the Washington Accords commit Kinshasa to clear obligations. “This means Kinshasa is expected to ensure the FDLR disarms, returns, and repatriates to Rwanda, leaving Congolese territory,” he said. ALSO READ: Analysts tackle DR Congo’s mineral resources, FDLR, governance failures He questioned why Kinshasa was negotiating with the group in the first place, arguing that neutralisation is a coercive process undertaken when an armed group refuses to lay down its weapons voluntarily. “Dismantling means using force when necessary after a militia refuses to disarm. It does not mean negotiating with it,” he said. He argued that the latest protocol was another manoeuvre to delay implementation of the Washington Accords. “This is simply DR Congo’s way of using agreements as a pretext to buy time,” he said. “The only reason FDLR has not been dismantled is because Kinshasa lacks political will,” he said, arguing that the Congolese government continues to rely on the militia for its own interests. ALSO READ: FDLR links to Habyarimana's son raise regional security concerns - report Ambassador Joseph Mutaboba, former diplomat and a political analyst, said the reported protocol undermines attempts to portray the December 2025 Washington Accords as being implemented. “The Washington Accords never included FDLR around the table. They talked about their neutralisation within 90 days,” he said. Mutaboba said by signing a protocol with the militia, Kinshasa had effectively acknowledged the FDLR as an organised armed group, contradicting years of official rhetoric questioning its existence or significance. He argued that the protocol amounted to a distortion of the provisions of the Washington Accords. “If you are negotiating with them instead of dismantling them, then you are doing the exact opposite of what the agreement requires,” he said. ALSO READ: Kagame: Rwanda faces impossible choice to tolerate or defend against FDLR A ‘smokescreen’ for continued cooperation Gasominari also argued that developments on the ground contradict claims that Kinshasa is moving to dismantle the FDLR, saying the militia remains embedded within armed groups fighting alongside the Congolese army in the war with AFC/MM23 rebel movement. “Another troubling issue is that most of the groups fighting in South and North Kivu, called Wazalendo, are heavily mixed with FDLR,” he said. ALSO READ: Inside FDLR’s frontline base 3km from Rwanda border Crisis analyst Bojana Coulibaly said the reported protocol follows a pattern of previous declarations that never resulted in the FDLR abandoning armed violence. She noted that the group’s political leader, Victor Byiringiro, signed a similar declaration in the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, in 2014, yet the militia remained active. “While being tasked, as part of the Washington Agreement, to neutralize FDLR, Kinshasa chooses instead to serve as the representative of the genocidal force,” she said. Coulibaly described the latest announcement as “just a smokescreen for continued collaboration between DRC and FDLR.” She argued that Kinshasa continues to view the FDLR as a military asset and is using the protocol to gain time to reorganise while presenting an impression that it is honouring its commitments under the Washington agreement.
