Congo’s army has announced the start of a disarmament push against a militia linked to Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, in what would be a key step towards implementing a US-brokered peace deal with neighbouring Rwanda.

The move to disarm the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) comes two weeks after Congolese and Rwandan officials met in Washington to agree steps to revive the agreement signed last June, and just weeks after the US sanctioned Rwanda's defence forces over their backing of the M23 rebel movement.

The FDLR is a Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias responsible for the 1994 genocide. Rwanda has long demanded that Congo neutralise the group as a condition for any lasting peace.

Lieutenant General Nduru Jacques Ychaligonza, deputy chief of staff of the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), told reporters on Sunday that he had been dispatched to the northeastern city of Kisangani to launch preparations for operations targeting FDLR.

“They must hand over their weapons, willingly or by force,” Ychaligonza said, adding that the first phase would focus on persuading fighters to surrender. “We do not need bloodshed.”

He said a reception site had been set up in Kisangani to receive those who lay down their arms and that fighters would eventually be sent to Rwanda.

Rwanda has long accused Congo of fighting alongside FDLR, while Congo has accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel movement, which controls large swathes of territory in eastern Congo after a lightning advance last year. Rwanda denies supporting M23.

The army announcement came as M23 fighters pulled back from at least a dozen villages in Lubero territory in North Kivu province over recent days, the Kinshasa-appointed  governor of the province said on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the rebel group described the movements as routine troop rotation in a post on X on Saturday.

Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington last June, with Congo committing to dismantle the FDLR and Rwanda committing to disengage its forces, but fighting has continued on several fronts.