Congo said on Tuesday that a Rwandan armed group operating in eastern Congo had signed a protocol committing to disarmament, but Rwandarejected the move as inconsistent with a U.S.-brokered peace agreement ‌between the two countries. Congo’s government said the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group founded by ethnic Hutu fighters including some linked to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, had signed a protocol on disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment. The FDLR is a central issue in a peace⁠deal signed by Congo and Rwanda in Washington last year aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo. Rwanda has long accused Congo of cooperating with the group, while Kinshasa accuses Kigali of backing AFC/M23 rebels. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the protocol a delaying tactic, saying the peace ⁠deal required the FDLR’s neutralisation rather than negotiations with the group.