By Rwandan President Paul Kagame has strongly criticized the international community for overlooking the root causes of the escalating conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Speaking at his first press conference of 2025, Kagame highlighted that both Congolese leadership and international actors have failed to acknowledge key issues fueling the violence, instead choosing to scapegoat Rwanda.
“The eastern Congo crisis is not only Congo’s problem but a challenge for the region, the continent, and the global community,” he asserted during the media briefing held at the Kigali Convention Centre on Thursday.
Kagame emphasized that factors sustaining the conflict have origins beyond the region, implicating global powers. Meanwhile, Kinshasa has intensified local restrictions, including threats of capital punishment for media reports seen as favorable to Rwanda or the M23 rebel group, which Kinshasa alleges is backed by Kigali—a claim Rwanda vehemently denies.
The protracted conflict, centered around clashes between the Congolese army (FARDC) and M23 rebels, has seen sporadic peace efforts collapse repeatedly. Kagame urged a focus on accountability within DRC, questioning why over 100,000 Congolese refugees were currently in Rwanda if Kigali were indeed driving the crisis.
“M23 fighters are Congolese, as even Congolese leaders acknowledge. Why are they fighting? Why are there so many refugees here in Rwanda? Is it because Rwanda invited them?” Kagame posed.
He rejected allegations of Rwanda’s involvement, attributing the crisis to unresolved grievances, including persecution of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese and failure to address threats from the FDLR militia, remnants of those responsible for Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
“The international community seems intent on preserving the FDLR for reasons I cannot comprehend—perhaps as a reward for genocide or simply because they are anti-Rwanda,” Kagame charged. He questioned the effectiveness of MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, which has been present for nearly three decades.
“If you ask what MONUSCO has accomplished after 30 years, there’s little to show beyond blaming Rwanda for Congo’s problems,” he remarked. “If DRC won’t take responsibility for its people, how can we solve this regional crisis?”
The renewed violence in DRC’s Kivu provinces displaced over 100,000 civilians in the past week, according to reports from humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), underscoring the deepening crisis. Kagame warned that the conflict will persist unless root causes are directly addressed.
“This issue wouldn’t be solved even if Rwanda were relocated elsewhere. Blame games won’t address the core problems or provide solutions,” he said. “This conflict is resolvable. It should have ended long ago—but not through manipulation or avoidance of truth.”
Rwanda continues to advocate direct dialogue between the DRC government and M23 rebels, despite Kinshasa labeling the group as terrorists and sentencing several of its leaders to death. Kagame expressed frustration with fruitless peace talks, insisting on action over rhetoric.
“Participation without addressing core issues is meaningless. We need tangible results built on truth and solutions,” Kagame concluded.
