A US-brokered memorandum of understanding signed June 27 in Washington between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has done little to halt a brutal conflict raging in eastern Congo. While Kigali’s envoy Olivier Nduhungirehe and DRC’s foreign minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner inked the accord under the watchful eye of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio—and with President Donald Trump publicly suggesting American mining rights as the quid pro quo—fighting on the ground has only intensified.
Talks That Exclude the Real Belligerents
- The alliance of Fleuve Congo, M23 rebels and the local Twirwaneho militias continues an open war against Kinshasa.
- Negotiators in Washington and parallel discussions in Doha have left out the very groups waging the battles, rendering “agreements in principle” hollow.
- US diplomats walk away with greater strategic footholds and potential mineral concessions while the DRC government and Rwanda trade mutual accusations of fueling each other’s proxy uprisings.
Minembwe: A Community Under Siege
Despite diplomatic fanfare, the Banyamulenge an ethnic Tutsi community in South Kivu’s Minembwe highlands face near-daily atrocities:
- On June 30, as the DRC celebrated its 65th independence anniversary, drones launched from neighboring Burundi bombarded Minembwe’s lone airstrip, destroying a humanitarian plane and wounding civilians.
- Under orders from General Pacifique Masunzu, commander of the DRC’s 3rd military zone, FARDC forces, backed by Burundian troops, FDLR fighters and Wazalendo militias, have laid siege to Banyamulenge villages.
- Reports surfaced of three Banyamulenge and North Kivu Tutsi FARDC soldiers executed and dismembered by comrades in Bwegera, their bodies bearing signs of torture.
- Dozens of Banyamulenge police from the Hauts-Plateaux were beaten, robbed of pay, and imprisoned without charge. Meanwhile, Burundian soldiers handed terrified Banyamulenge civilians to Wazalendo militias for reprisal killings.
Cynical Realpolitik or Silent Genocide?
Observers warn that the US-sponsored protocol is detached from the conflict’s deep historical, identity-driven roots. Many Banyamulenge see the diplomatic tour that accompanied Kayikwamba Wagner—from Washington to Brussels—as outright denial of their daily peril and have branded it “a betrayal of our people.”
“The world signs these agreements over warm corpses while insisting peace has arrived,” says a Minembwe resident who fled into the bush. Questions swirl: Why is Minembwe singled out for annihilation even as Goma and Bukavu fell with barely a fight? What geopolitical stakes justify this single-minded assault on a small community?
The Road Ahead
As militia columns press deeper into the Itombwe highlands and recruitment of European mercenaries surges, the Banyamulenge face systematic erasure. Their plight poses an urgent test: will the international community abandon hollow statements in favor of genuine intervention, or allow eastern Congo to become the theater of a silent genocide?
For The USA New Times, the answer seems clear: lasting peace cannot be brokered by polling tables in Doha or protocols in Washington. It demands recognizing the humanity under siege and holding accountable those who dare to wage war on entire communities.
