Militia in DR Congo with ties to Rwandan genocide surrender
A militia operating in the eastern parts of DR Congo with ties to the Rwandan genocide in 1994 have agreed to disarm, Africanews and agencies report on July 29th.
In a national television address on July 28th, the Congolese government announced the surrender of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and how members have agreed to go back to Rwanda. If they are not allowed in, they must go to any third world country that will accept them.
The disarmament of the FDLR marks a step in the right direction for a peace deal negotiated by the US to be realised in practice between the Congo and Rwanda. Armed groups have long been a point of tension between Rwanda and DRC with the Congolese government being accused of supporting the FDLR and the allegation that Rwandan authorities have supported M23 rebel movement in the DRC. Large regions of land are controlled by the M23 in eastern DRC.
During the address ON July 28th, a pledge was made to bring justice to those targeted legally by the courts. In response for agreeing to adhere to the courts and any justice they’ll decide, security conditions for members of the FDLR have been set by the group. They are confined away from the eastern areas of DRC and any combat zones.
Many members of the FDLR used to be soldiers in Rwanda’s army and some were part of the militias who carried out the genocide in 1994. Around 800,000 people were killed in 100 days in Rwanda.
It has been a demand of officials in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda that the FDLR be neutralised by the Congolese government and is a requirement for peace between the two nations. The Rwandan government have long justified their interventions in the DRC through their alleged fear of the FDLR.
Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s foreign minister of foreign affairs has called the disarmament of the FDLR a “non-event” and that under the agreed implementation framework of the peace deal, DRC had a duty to disarm the militia’s threat.
Africanews plus agencies, Maghrebi.org
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