In a video shared by MONUSCO, soldiers are seen being trained in the use of drones, handling heavy artillery, and managing casualties and injuries. The training took place in Bunia, Ituri province, under the supervision of General Saiful Alam Bhuiyan, Commander of MONUSCO's North Sector.
'As you know, our mandate is to eventually transition responsibilities to the local security forces so they can maintain law and order,' General Bhuiyan says in the social media video shared on Tuesday.
'We are trying to train the maximum number of FARDC soldiers. They are also being trained on human rights, and other sectors will continue this work until local forces have sufficient capacity to govern their own people.'
However, Minister Nduhungirehe questioned the wisdom of the training, noting that FARDC's alliance with the FDLR, a militia linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, raises serious concerns. He argued that arming and training forces associated with such groups undermines civilian protection and perpetuates insecurity in the region, where the Congolese forces are battling M23 rebels.
'If I understand correctly, MONUSCO, which is a UN peacekeeping mission whose main mandate is the protection of civilians, is training the Congolese army, allied with the genocidal FDLR militia, to handle heavy weapons and attack drones, the very same weapons currently being used by FARDC in ongoing ceasefire violations and daily bombardments of densely populated areas,' Nduhungirehe said.
'Thus, 26 years after its deployment, during which nearly 20 billion dollars have been spent, the FDLR has strengthened, armed groups have multiplied, and hate speech and persecution of Rwandophone communities have become normalized, MONUSCO continues to demonstrate, if any further proof was needed, that it is one of the greatest failures in the history of the United Nations.'
Si j'ai bien compris, la @MONUSCO, qui est une mission onusienne de maintien de la paix, dont le mandat principal est la protection des civils, est entrain de former l'armée congolaise (alliée à la milice génocidaire FDLR) à manier des armes lourdes et des drônes d'attaque,… https://t.co/ztjh5JAarJ
â€" Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe (@onduhungirehe) November 5, 2025
Rwanda has often questioned MONUSCO's mandate in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid growing insecurity, displacement, and the deaths of scores of civilians.
The concerns have been echoed repeatedly by President Paul Kagame, who has in the past sharply criticised MONUSCO over its decades-long presence in eastern DRC. Kagame argues that the mission has failed to stabilise the region, curb violence, or address the root causes of conflict, despite a multibillion-dollar budget.
"What did they actually come to do? To keep peace? What peace? To bring peace? What peace have they brought? Did they come to solve the security problem caused by the FDLR, which has been in Congo for 30 years? Nothing. So why are they still there?" President Kagame posed during an interview with Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur and citizen journalist Mario Nawfal.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
