Congolese ruler Felix Tshisekedi continues to pursue a belligerent course in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, while falsely presenting himself to the world as a man committed to peace engagements.
Recent airstrikes carried out by the Tshisekedi coalition against M23/AFC positions on Mount Kasopo in Walikale are the latest evidence of this contradiction. These attacks represent a clear violation of the Doha peace agreement, which required Tshisekedi to respect a permanent ceasefire.
The pattern repeated itself in Uvira. After the withdrawal of the M23 movement, what followed was a renewed wave of persecution and violence against the Banyamulenge community. Homes were attacked, lives were threatened, and thousands were forced to flee. It was the predictable outcome of a strategy that treats certain communities as expendable.
All of this happens while Tshisekedi claims to support peace talks. In reality, he has buried every serious negotiation effort, only to resurrect the language of peace when facing international audiences. It is a calculated performance designed to buy time, avoid pressure, and continue a war that has already consumed too many lives.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, during discussions between David Van Weel and Olivier Nduhungirehe, a simple truth was restated. Peace in eastern DRC will not come from force. It will come from the choices made at the negotiating table. This was a reminder, and a warning.
Tshisekedi has consistently ignored such counsel. His belligerence has deepened suffering, fueled atrocities, and discarded every resolution meant to end the war he helped create. Violence has become his default language, even as he pretends to speak peace abroad.
The international community can no longer afford to indulge this deception. A leader who signs agreements only to violate them, who speaks of unity while presiding over persecution, and who kills his own people in the name of a war that never brings peace must be confronted. Silence and half-measures only prolong the tragedy.
Peace in the Great Lakes region will only come when those who sabotage peace are held accountable.
ellenkampire