Blitz Bureau
KINSHASA: The peace agreement signed between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda “is only a beginning; the real work starts now,” DRC Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said at a press conference, reported IANS. The two neighbours inked the peace deal on June 27 in Washington, aiming to end decades of armed conflict and humanitarian crises in Africa’s Great Lakes region.
Wagner said the deal requires Rwandan troops to leave North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in three stages while Congolese and international partners move simultaneously to neutralise the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. The accord also mandates the immediate disarmament of all Congolese militias. Humanitarian provisions include a structured, voluntary return programme for roughly 250,000 refugees and internally displaced people, along with rapid reopening of aid corridors in conflict-affected areas, said Wagner. A follow-up summit in Washington between DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame is expected “in the coming weeks,” Wagner said.
“We will keep pushing to translate this accord into lasting peace, sustainable development and the full pacification of the eastern provinces and the wider Great Lakes region,” she said.
