CONGO’S NEIGHBORS CONDEMN ‘FOREIGN ARMED GROUPS’ IN COUNTRY’S EAST – The current situation risked destabilising the wider region
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Burundian counterpart Evariste Ndayishimiye urged an end to foreign interference in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), warning it risked destabilising the wider region.
Speaking during a Great Lakes summit of foreign ministers from countries that signed the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the region, Museveni said political will was needed to resolve the crisis.“We know what the problem is and it can be solved, but we must have the political will,” Museveni said. “Foreigners must limit their involvement, they embolden the mistake-makers.”
Ndayishimiye said the conflict was worsening and could spread beyond the DRC. “As I speak, the war raging in eastern DRC is reaching its peak,” he said. “Foreign armed groups are taking advantage of the support of certain countries, such as Rwanda, and they are on the lookout to take advantage of this situation.”
The Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has seen a resurgence of violence since early 2025, when the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group seized and occupied several towns in North and South Kivu provinces. While the United Nations and Western governments have previously stated that Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23, Rwanda has denied backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo’s army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.
