DRCongo:The FDLR are fully integrated into the FARDC

Alarming new testimonies gathered during an investigative mission in the Kivu region have shed light on the deepening ties between the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). According to multiple credible sources, the FDLR, a group classified as a terrorist organization by the international community, has not only expanded its ranks but is now deeply embedded within the FARDC’s operational structure.

Belgian doctor and former senator Alain Destexhe, who spent time in Kivu gathering firsthand accounts, confirms a pattern of increasing militarization and integration of FDLR fighters into FARDC units. “Their numbers have doubled,” one source stated, attributing the surge to significant financial and logistical backing from Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, allegedly in the context of his ongoing military campaign against the M23 rebel group.

Among the most harrowing accounts is that of a young man who was forcibly recruited into the FDLR at just 12 years old and remained active for six years. “Since 2022, I received a monthly salary of $120 directly from the FARDC,” he revealed, underscoring the institutionalized nature of the relationship between the two forces.

Such testimonies point not only to child soldiering, a war crime under international law, but also to the normalization of payments and logistical coordination between the FDLR and FARDC — a development that starkly contradicts official Congolese and international narratives.

Perhaps most alarming is the level of tactical and strategic cooperation revealed in the testimony of an FARDC captain formerly responsible for security at the Rubaya mine in North Kivu. He confirmed that resupply operations, including helicopter missions, were jointly conducted with the FDLR and other local militias such as the Wazalendos. “Command, operations, logistics — everything was coordinated,” he stated.

According to military analysts in the region, many FDLR officers have now been absorbed into the FARDC, sometimes in senior command positions. “They are often more competent than regular FARDC officers,” one source admitted, citing 30 years of battlefield experience.

Despite repeated warnings from regional observers and humanitarian groups, the international community has largely remained silent on the implications of the FDLR’s integration into the Congolese military. The United Nations, the European Union, and the African Union continue to list the FDLR as a terrorist organization, yet fail to address the structural entanglement of its fighters within FARDC ranks.

Further complicating matters is the FDLR’s alleged support infrastructure in Europe, where “human rights NGOs” sympathetic to their cause are believed to be operating. These networks, critics argue, help shield the group from deeper scrutiny and sanctions.

Experts warn that the FDLR’s entrenchment within the Congolese army poses a long-term threat to both national and regional stability. Calls for the reform or complete overhaul of the FARDC are growing louder, though few believe such a process is politically feasible in the current climate.

As the conflict in eastern Congo continues to escalate, and as alliances become more opaque, the blending of state and insurgent forces raises troubling questions about accountability, human rights, and the future of peace in the Great Lakes region.

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