Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has accused the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of stalling a United States (US)-brokered peace agreement aimed at ending the M23 conflict in eastern DRC.

The Congolese government, in turn, has dismissed the claim, pointing the finger at Rwanda for allegedly failing to withdraw its troops from DRC territory.

President Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC is scheduled to travel to the US this week to sign the final agreement with Kagame. Ahead of the ceremony, Tshisekedi met the DRC community in Serbia and made it clear that there would be no integration of M23 fighters into the national army, a process known locally as mixage and brassage. He stressed that previous attempts had not succeeded, citing concerns that some ethnic Tutsis from eastern DRC had previously acted as informants for Rwanda.

Analysts caution that these early disagreements could foreshadow challenges in implementing the agreement once it is signed.

–ChannelAfrica–