The Gulf Today

6/29/12

KIGALI: The Rwandan government on Thursday accused Kinshasa of renewing co-operation between its army and a Rwandan Hutu rebel group operating in the east of DR Congo, with a view to launching attacks on Rwanda.

Kigali itself is accused of backing a mutiny in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a charge it denies.

A Rwandan presidency spokeswoman said an official in DR Congo’s North Kivu province, where the commander of the Rwandan Hutu rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is based, is tasked with persuading the FDLR to resume co-operation with the DRC army and to “plan terror attacks on Rwanda.”

“Two FDLR political cadres, travelling on Belgian passports, are currently in Rutshuru in North Kivu to meet the FDLR command and convince them to resume co-operation with the Congolese army,” spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said.

She identified the men as Faustin Murego and Joseph Nzabonimpa, both resident in Belgium, and gave the numbers of the passports on which they are travelling.

Makolo said the two flew into the Ugandan capital Kampala on an Egypt Air flight and then made their way to the North Kivu provincial capital Goma, with the help of DRC intelligence agents.

Murego was a lieutenant in the former Rwandan army and now lives in the Belgian city of Liege, Makolo said.

Nzabonimpa was also an officer in the former Rwandan army and now lives in Brussels, where he works in IT, she said.

Still according to Makolo, North Kivu Governor Julien Paluku asked the UN mission in DRC to fly the two men to Walikale, a town deep in the forest, so they could meet FDLR commander Sylvestre Mudacumura.

The UN refused and so Mudacumura sent a lower ranking officer Pacifique Ntawunguka to meet them.

“The meeting took place…and they decided to resume co-operation,” Makolo said, adding that the two had given Ntawunguka $100,000 to give to Mudacumura.

The Gulf Today