{"id":2000123487,"date":"2026-08-24T18:32:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T16:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000123487"},"modified":"2026-08-24T18:36:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T16:36:36","slug":"rwanda-will-protect-itself-at-any-cost-amid-fdlr-threat-president-kagame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-will-protect-itself-at-any-cost-amid-fdlr-threat-president-kagame\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda will protect itself at any cost amid FDLR threat \u2013 President Kagame"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Speaking during a press conference at the Kigali Convention Centre on Monday, Kagame said Rwanda’s security concerns over the FDLR have persisted for about three decades and will continue to shape the country’s involvement in the regional conflict as long as the armed group remains a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRwanda’s problem has always been the FDLR in Congo. I can repeat it a hundred times,\u201d Kagame said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd if this problem of FDLR is not resolved, of course Rwanda will always remain involved as part of this problem. There are no two ways about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Kagame was responding to a question about a recently reported Congolese protocol for the disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment of FDLR fighters, which Kinshasa said was part of its commitments under the Washington peace agreement. Rwanda has rejected the arrangement as inconsistent with the agreement. The United States, which brokered the deal, has said the DRC must neutralise the FDLR as part of its commitments under the Washington Accords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journalist asked whether Rwanda viewed the initiative as the neutralisation process envisaged under the agreement or as a political manoeuvre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kagame said efforts to resolve the FDLR issue had been ongoing for decades, involving the United Nations, the United States, European countries, African states and other actors, but had failed to address the root causes of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe handling and the mishandling of this problem over many years is known. The actors are known,\u201d he remarked<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that successive efforts had focused on superficial aspects of the crisis rather than addressing its underlying causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Head of State also rejected arguments that Rwanda uses the FDLR, formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, as a justification for its involvement in eastern DRC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you don’t want Rwanda, if nobody keeps saying Rwanda, Rwanda, Rwanda, and doesn’t want Rwanda to have anything to say in this, why don’t you remove this problem and see whether Rwanda is using it as an excuse?\u201d he posed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We will do anything that contributes to that protection\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kagame said Rwanda’s approach would be guided first by the need to protect itself, while also seeking to avoid giving its adversaries opportunities to threaten the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe behave in a manner that protects us at any cost. We will do anything that contributes to that protection, day or night,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are no two ways about it; that one we will, no question.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that Rwanda would seek to act responsibly while protecting its interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will do what is right to protect ourselves, and we will do it without fear, favour, day or night, any time,\u201d Kagame said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Kagame also maintained that Rwanda’s desire for peace remained central to its approach to the regional crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want peace to the point that we are ready to fight for it. And that’s our main goal. We want peace, and we want to work with others to have peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His remarks came as he questioned the effectiveness of international efforts to address the conflict in eastern DRC, including the use of sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kagame argued that sanctions had created additional problems rather than resolving the underlying conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstead of sanctioning FDLR or those who work with them or support them, they sanction those who fight them. I don’t understand the logic,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also questioned the failure to address the origins of the conflict involving various armed groups in eastern DRC, including AFC\/M23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kagame said Rwanda would continue working with other countries on peace efforts while maintaining its own security as a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are happy to do that, I think. It is a pleasure to do the hardest task to protect ourselves. That’s what it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Speaking during a press conference at the Kigali Convention Centre on Monday, Kagame said Rwanda’s security concerns over the FDLR have persisted for about three decades and will continue to shape the country’s involvement in the regional crisis as long as the armed group remains a threat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Paul Kagame maintains that Rwanda will take whatever measures it considers necessary to protect its security amid the continued presence of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000123489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[151,70],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000123487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-editors-choice","tag-main-home-ighlight","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000123489,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/DSC_4889.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1500,"height":996,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/DSC_4889.jpg","width":1500,"height":996},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/DSC_4889.jpg","width":1500,"height":996},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/DSC_4889.jpg","width":1500,"height":996},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/DSC_4889.jpg","width":1500,"height":996},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/DSC_4889.jpg","width":1500,"height":996}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000123487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000123487"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000123487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000123497,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000123487\/revisions\/2000123497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000123489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000123487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000123487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000123487"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000123487"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000123487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}