{"id":53043,"date":"2025-02-18T08:46:19","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T08:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/un-chief-antonio-guterres-calls-for-disbandment-of-fdlr-in-eastern-drc\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T10:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T10:15:14","slug":"un-chief-antonio-guterres-calls-for-disbandment-of-fdlr-in-eastern-drc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/un-chief-antonio-guterres-calls-for-disbandment-of-fdlr-in-eastern-drc\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Chief Ant\u00f3nio Guterres calls for disbandment of FDLR in eastern DRC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a February 16, 2025, interview with France24, Guterres stated that the conflict should not be considered a regional war, as both the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have agreed on ceasefire measures, including the dismantling of FDLR.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first and most important step is to dismantle FDLR\u2026 then find a solution with M23. I believe in a key principle: foreign armed groups must leave Congo, and Congolese citizens must find a way to coexist peacefully without relying on ethnic divisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>For over 30 years, Interahamwe militia and former Rwanda government soldiers who fled to the Congolese forests after committing atrocities during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, have reorganized with the intent to launch attacks on Rwanda.<\/p>\n<p>These groups, including ALIR (which later became FDLR), have played a significant role in spreading genocidal ideology in eastern DRC. Since then, Tutsis in the region have faced killings, destruction of property, and mass displacement.<\/p>\n<p>UN reports have repeatedly confirmed that FDLR has been integrated into FARDC, provided with weapons, and trained by the Congolese army in coordination with President Tshisekedi\u2019s government to attack Rwanda. EAC and SADC leaders have agreed on measures to eliminate FDLR. However, recent events raise questions about DRC\u2019s commitment to this goal.<\/p>\n<p>President Tshisekedi\u2019s wife, Denise Nyakeru, was recently seen visiting wounded soldiers in a hospital, including FDLR fighters, casting doubt on the Congolese government\u2019s intentions.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, the M23 rebel group, which fights for the rights of Tutsis and Kinyarwanda-speaking communities in DRC, has been dominating headlines. The group continues to defeat a coalition of FARDC, FDLR, Wazalendo, Burundian troops, European mercenaries, and SADC forces.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, at a special UN Security Council meeting on January 26, 2025, Rwanda\u2019s Ambassador to the UN, Ernest Rwamucyo, accused MONUSCO of collaborating with FDLR instead of eliminating it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMONUSCO supports FDLR, a UN-sanctioned terrorist group, alongside European mercenaries, violating the 1989 UN agreements. This is unacceptable. MONUSCO is engaging in a conflict it should be neutral in. It must focus on protecting civilians, particularly the displaced, rather than fighting alongside FARDC\u2019s coalition,\u201d Rwamucyo stated.<\/p>\n<p>Although Guterres did not directly address MONUSCO\u2019s role, he emphasized that following the resolutions by EAC and SADC leaders, diplomatic efforts should be prioritized to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is still much diplomatic work to be done to ensure peace in eastern Congo. However, the primary objective must be to uphold the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of Congo,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these diplomatic efforts, the Congolese government remains adamant that it will not negotiate with M23 and continues to focus on international propaganda and military confrontation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-81819 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/pic_1-201.jpg\" alt=\"FDLR have played a significant role in spreading genocidal ideology in eastern DRC.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-81818 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/guterres-7-e7c0a.jpg\" alt=\"The United Nations Secretary-General, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, has pointed out that resolving insecurity in eastern DRC should begin with dismantling the FDLR.\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United Nations Secretary-General, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, has pointed out that resolving insecurity in eastern DRC should begin with dismantling the FDLR, repatriating all foreign armed groups, and fostering unity among Congolese citizens beyond ethnic divisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":2000081817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-53043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000081817,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-308.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-308.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-308.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-308.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-308.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-308.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53043","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\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000081817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53043"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=53043"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=53043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}