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President Paul Kagame on Thursday received European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib for talks focused on security in eastern Congo, where renewed fighting has strained regional peace efforts.
Lahbib met Kagame on Feb. 19, 2026, alongside the EU’s special representative for the Great Lakes region, Johan Borgstam, according to a statement from the Rwandan presidency, Village Urugwiro.
The discussions centered on the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and regional and international efforts to address the humanitarian needs of civilians affected by the conflict, the statement said.
Violence in eastern Congo has persisted for decades but intensified in the past five years after the resurgence of the M23 rebel group. The group says it is defending the rights of Congolese Tutsis and Kinyarwanda-speaking communities, who it accuses the Congolese government of marginalizing and targeting.
The AFC/M23 coalition has battled Congolese armed forces and allied militias, seizing territory in North and South Kivu provinces.
Multiple peace agreements have been signed since 2000 — in addition to Washington and Doha accords referenced by regional leaders — but implementation has repeatedly stalled. More than 20 U.N. Security Council resolutions have also addressed the conflict, calling for the disarmament of armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR.
Rwanda accuses the Congolese army of cooperating with the FDLR, an armed group founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda. Congolese officials deny working with the group.
Earlier this week, fighting flared despite a ceasefire proposed by Angolan President João Lourenço, who has been mediating regional efforts. Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi publicly endorsed the truce, but M23 accused government forces of continuing attacks, including reported helicopter and drone strikes in South Kivu on Feb. 18.
In early February, Borgstam urged Congolese authorities to dismantle the FDLR and implement peace agreements signed in Washington in June and December 2025, as well as earlier commitments reached in Doha.
The EU, he said, remains committed to supporting peace and economic cooperation in the Great Lakes region.
Estimates put FDLR fighters in Congo at between 7,000 and 10,000.
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