1.The endemic security challenges in Eastern. DRC have nothing to do with  Rwanda but, unfortunately, Congolese leaders use this narrative to scapegoat Rwanda for their failures to offer the Congolese people a safe and dignified life. The problems of DRC are internal political disorganization, greed, indiscipline on the side of FARDC, and fragmentation of armed groups with competing interests.

2.People who peddle the narrative that Rwanda causes insecurity in eastern DRC in most cases don’t even understand the geography and the different security dynamics in DRC.

For instance:

• Eastern DRC is made up of 11 provinces, namely Haut Uele, Ituri, Nord Kivu, Sud Kivu, Maniema, Tanganyika, Haut Lomami, Haut Katanga, Tshopo, Lomami, Lualaba).
• These 10 provinces are ⅓ of the entire DRC territory.
• According to the UN, more than 130 armed groups operate in the  eastern DRC, including the genocidal militia – FDLR.
• M23, which Rwanda is accused of supporting, operates in one province, North Kivu,  in Rutshuru.
• The size of Rutshuru is  5,982 Km² out of 781,803 Km² of the entire eastern DRC territory.

3.In the last two weeks, three new rebel groups have been created, including:

• A  Coalition of Nyatura,
• Shishikara (in Masisi Kivu) and,
• Mapi (Ituri).

4.Last week, the fight between 2 congolese rebel armed groups, CODECO and ZAIRE, in Ituri left more than 34 dead.

5-According to the UN Group of experts,  ADF and CODECO continue to expand their area of operation and attack civilians on a continuous basis. ADF alone has killed more than 370 people and abducted at least 374 others last year.

6-Across E. DRC, FARDC operates alongside different rebel groups, including FDLR, to mine illegally in violation of the military code. They also forcefully collect taxes on goods and civilians. This is a fact that is well documented in the UN Group of experts since 2017.

7-If you remember correctly, the last time President Kagame and President Felix met in Goma was on 26 May 2021, two years ago; the media asked president Kagame if Rwanda was ready to support DRC in bringing security to E.DRC.

• At that time, 2 provinces, including the one where the two presidents met, were in a state of siege for two months (Etat de siege) due to the chaos and violence stemming from the over 130 armed groups that operate in EDRC. Rwanda was ready to support its neighbor.
• At this time, M23 had been neutralized; it returned in February 2022.
• Today, these 2 provinces (Ituri and North Kivu) are still under siege.

8-The immense human rights violations against Congolese people can be irrefutably linked to the sustained collaboration between the security forces of DRC and the different armed groups, as detailed in the October 2022 report of the UN Joint Human Rights Office in DRC.

9-All of this evidence shows that the DRC Government continues to fail in its primary duty: protecting its citizens.