Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels accuse each other of sabotaging peace deals

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Dec 2 (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo’s army and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels traded accusations of ceasefire violations on Tuesday, two days before the White House is set to host the signing of an accord to end fighting in the country’s east.

The United States and Qatar have been mediating talks aimed at restoring peace in North and South Kivu provinces where clashes have displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Rwanda has denied backing M23, which says it is fighting to protect Tutsi communities in eastern Congo.

Both sides accused the other on Tuesday of trying to sabotage the peace deals with attacks in South Kivu.

The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) said its troops had come under attack in Kaziba, Katogota and Lubarika from the M23 rebel group and its allies.

“These attacks clearly show the coalition’s intention to sabotage the Washington and Doha peace agreements,” army spokesperson Major General Sylvain Ekenge said in a statement.

Corneille Nangaa, leader of a rebel alliance that includes M23, said on X that Congolese forces, together with the Burundian army and other allies, had launched attacks in the same province since morning.

“Faced with this violation of the ceasefire within the framework of the Doha peace process, the [alliance] has no choice but to defend itself and protect civilian populations,” he said.

The alliance’s spokesperson and M23’s president made similar assertions in posts on X.

U.S. President Donald Trumpis scheduled to host the leaders of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday to sign a peace agreement.

M23 staged a lightning advance in eastern Congo this year, seizing the region’s two largest cities and raising fears of a wider war.

(Reporting by Congo newsroom, Writing by Ayen Deng Bior, Editing by Portia Crowe and Timothy Heritage)