Washington in favor of “the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from the DRC” (Trump’s Africa advisor)

(archive photo)Kinshasa, April 18^th, 2025(CPA).- Massad Boulos, the State Department’s Senior Advisor for Africa, reiterated the US position on Thursday to withdraw Rwanda from the aggressed territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), during his digital press briefing from Washington. “We reiterate our position that Rwanda must cease all military support for the M23 and withdraw all Rwandan troops from DRC territory”, he said, alongside Corina Sanders, Under Secretary of State for African Affairs, with whom he had just returned from a tour of the region. President Trump’s “Mr. Africa” also said he was “confident” of a “rapid” solution to the conflict, for lasting peace and economic development in the region. He also announced that Washington would be putting in place a strategy to “see what is acceptable to all parties in the region”. Turning to economic issues, Boulos spoke of American support for the Lobito Corridor project, designed to facilitate the flow of mining products from the DRC via Zambia to the Atlantic.  All the more reason for the United States to take an interest in the region’s security issues, and to guarantee the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the DRC. From April 2^nd to 9^th, Massad headed a delegation from the U.S. Department of State visiting the DRC, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. According to the Congolese presidency, the purpose of the Kinshasa stopover was also to “promote US private sector investment in the region (…) The United States and the DRC are considering a partnership for the exploitation of Congolese rare and strategic minerals (a large part of which is located in the territories occupied by the M23-AFC, subjugated by Rwanda) in return for US security support. ACP/