Senators Risch, Shaheen say US must act against parties that have broken commitments

KIGALI, Rwanda 

US senators raised concerns over the ongoing occupation of parts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by the M23 rebel group during a meeting with President Felix Tshisekedi, according to a statement.

The M23 rebel group has been at the center of the conflict in eastern DR Congo.

Allegedly backed by neighboring Rwanda, according to the United Nations and Western nations, the group controls significant territory in the region, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, which were seized early in 2025.

The remarks by Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, came hours after the Congo River Alliance, a political-military group that includes M23 rebels, claimed responsibility for last week’s attack on Kisangani Bangoka International Airport in northeastern DR Congo.

The meeting on Wednesday with President Tshisekedi at the US Capitol focused on the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, as well as the future of US-DR Congo bilateral relations, the statement read.

The committee expressed its “concerns about the ongoing occupation of parts of Eastern Congo by the Rwanda-backed M23 group, and the urgent need for Rwandan forces to fully withdraw from the region if there is to be any chance at real, lasting peace,” the statement added.

In December 2025, Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame signed a US-brokered peace deal aimed at ending fighting in eastern DR Congo.

The committee said Washington is “ready to be a stronger partner to the DRC,” and it “must also act against those who have already broken their commitments to deter further violations,” according to the statement.

The senators also voiced alarm over the humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo, saying that 26 million people facing acute food insecurity was “intolerable.”

Women, children, and minority communities could not continue to be treated as collateral damage, they said.

The talks also covered the importance of the two countries’ critical minerals partnership and continued investment in revitalizing the Lobito Corridor to promote mutual economic growth, regional trade, and long-term US-Africa cooperation.

To ensure lasting stability, the senators urged authorities in Kinshasa to de-escalate the conflict by taking decisive action against Rwandan FDLR rebels and the pro-Congolese government Wazalendo militia, which they said were harming local communities. By James Tasamba, Anadolu Agency