AFC/M23 leaders meeting with MONUSCO officials in Goma
  • Security

The AFC/M23 movement, through its political coordinator Corneille Nangaa, has sharply criticized what it terms Kinshasa’s “irresponsible” and “warmongering” rhetoric following President Félix Tshisekedi’s address in Houston to Congolese expatriates after the DRC-Portugal World Cup match. The Congolese head of state had vowed imminent military operations to reclaim territory controlled by the armed group in eastern DRC, heightening regional tensions.

Addressing journalists in Goma, North Kivu’s capital, on June 18, 2026, Corneille Nangaa condemned the international community’s inaction as verging on complicity, particularly given its awareness of intensified government attacks violating existing ceasefire agreements. “In the face of this tragic situation and the resulting calamities, we must acknowledge the deafening silence of peace mediators and partners, which borders on complicity,” Nangaa declared. “The international community possesses detailed information about the ground reality, the staggering civilian death tolls, and the perpetrators of these crimes.”

The AFC/M23 leader highlighted the paradox of diplomatic efforts in Doha and Washington failing to translate into tangible de-escalation, despite his movement’s unilateral release of hundreds of prisoners as a confidence-building measure. “The reinforcement of military deployments directly contradicts sincere peace efforts. While we have honored our commitments, Kinshasa has consistently failed to reciprocate,” he emphasized.

Nangaa further accused President Tshisekedi of systematically undermining peace initiatives through “manipulations, intrigues, and empty promises,” urging global actors to recognize eastern DRC’s suffering as a priority rather than a peripheral crisis. “We refuse to accept that lives in eastern Congo are treated as secondary tragedies, as Kinshasa often implies by framing them as events 2,000 kilometers away,” he stated.

The escalating verbal confrontation between Kinshasa and AFC/M23—backed by Rwanda—occurs amid stalled diplomatic processes, including the Doha talks and Washington agreements, designed to establish lasting ceasefires. Yet, these frameworks have yielded minimal concrete progress on the ground, where clashes between government forces and rebel groups persist unabated.

As regional and international calls for compliance with peace accords grow louder, the widening gap between diplomatic paper commitments and battlefield realities continues to deepen. Each party’s selective interpretation of agreements further erodes their already fragile implementation.