The latest killing of civilians in eastern DR Congo is yet another reminder of a reality that has been ignored for a long time: there will be no sustainable peace in the country, particularly in its eastern region, without uprooting the FDLR. Four civilians were this week killed and 10 others injured in Rutshuru, North Kivu, in an attack attributed to elements of FDLR genocidal militia. Two women were also abducted. This is not an isolated incident. For three decades, the genocidal militia has been part of the ecosystem of violence that has destabilised eastern DR Congo, displaced communities and complicated relations between countries in the Great Lakes region. The FDLR was formed by remnants of forces responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and remains under United Nations and United States sanctions. Yet, decades after establishing itself in eastern DR Congo, it continues to maintain the capacity to kill, recruit, organise and terrorise civilians. That such a militia remains active after all these years should itself be regarded as a major failure. Even more troubling is Kinshasa's continued failure to decisively dismantle the group. Instead of treating the FDLR as the security threat it is, successive Congolese authorities have tolerated it and actually co-opted it into the national security architecture. That contradiction cannot coexist with genuine efforts to bring peace to eastern DR Congo. The international community, particularly governments and institutions facilitating the various peace initiatives on DR Congo, must stop treating the FDLR question as peripheral. Peace agreements, ceasefires and diplomatic engagements will remain fragile if they do not address the armed groups at the heart of the insecurity. Indeed, the Washington Accords specifically provide for the neutralisation of the FDLR as part of efforts to address the security crisis in eastern DR Congo. Yet tangible progress remains elusive. Mediators cannot continue burying their heads in the sand and expect eastern DR Congo to magically pacify itself while one of the region's longest-standing and dangerous armed groups remains intact. For the Congolese people who have endured decades of war, the consequences of this failure are measured not in diplomatic statements but in lives lost, homes abandoned and generations raised amid violence. The latest victims in Rutshuru should therefore strengthen the resolve to finally deal with the problem at its roots. Neutralising the FDLR should not be regarded as doing Rwanda a favour. It is first and foremost in the interest of DR Congo and its people. Thirty years of accommodating the problem have produced enough evidence. It is time to uproot it.
