The Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo (FARDC), the National Army of the Democratic Republic of Congo in collaboration with Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) have kidnapped two Rwandan soldiers on patrol. The kidnap follows provocative aggression by FARDC on 23 May 22, where multiple rockets were fired on Rwandan territory.
Today's incident just like the shelling on the Rwandan territory on 23 May 22 happened when MONUSCO is present, yet it allows DRC misinformation to create more confusion. The latest incident comes at a time FARDC has intensified its collaboration with FDLR as it battles M23 which resumed fighting towards the end of last week expressing its grievances with the government of Congo.
The kidnap of the two RDF soldiers exposed once again FARDC's collaboration with FDLR, a rebel outfit comprised of remnant masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi who at different times plotted hit-and-run attacks on Rwanda and were repelled back.
Meanwhile, RDF has today through a statement disclosed that the kidnapped soldiers namely Cpl Nkundabagenzi Elysee and Pte Ntwari Gad are being held by FDLR in Eastern DRC. It called upon authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo that work closely with these genocidal armed groups to secure the release of the RDF soldiers.
RDF REQUESTS RELEASE OF SOLDIERS https://t.co/1DGWMHynVp pic.twitter.com/TBbzSgHM1p
-- Rwanda Defence Force (@RwandaMoD) May 28, 2022
Furthermore, RDF has written to the Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM), in line with its mandate, to intervene and secure the release and expeditious repatriation of the two RDF soldiers. The EJVM which is headquartered in Goma, was launched in September 2012 and comprises of military experts from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Member States. It monitors and carries out investigations on security incidents. Earlier last week, RDF wrote to EJVM requesting its urgent investigation into cross-border shelling in Musanze and Burera Districts.
PRESS RELEASE: RDF REQUESTS INVESTIGATION OF THE FORCES ARMÉES DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO (FARDC) SHELLING ON RWANDAN TERRITORY https://t.co/Ba0T4iiajy pic.twitter.com/W99J8frww1
-- Rwanda Defence Force (@RwandaMoD) May 23, 2022
While the ongoing fighting in DRC is entirely FARDC against M23, the Government of DRC has tried to drag Rwanda into the conflict. Following the shelling on the Rwandan territory last week, the government of DRC behaved as if nothing happed. Instead of apologizing to Rwanda and the Rwandan people, some government officials embarked on racial incitement of the Congolese population against Rwandans. On the other hand, the government of DRC which is blaming its failure to deal with internal security issues on Rwanda has taken measures to sabotage Rwanda's economy including suspension of RwandAir flights to DRC.
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According to security analysts, DRC creates problems, cries foul and employs misinformation which is dangerous for the region. Rwandan government officials have consistently expressed the commitment of the Government of Rwanda in supporting good bilateral relations and all regional efforts aimed at stabilizing the eastern DRC in good faith, in line with the ICGLR; Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region as well as the Nairobi process. It is high time that the government of DRC also embraces regional initiatives and de-escalate.
The continued collaboration between FARDC and FDLR is deplorable and should be condemned by all peace lovers. MONUSCO needs to execute its mandate and stop being a spectator or part of the problem. It is unclear how the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), a special component of MONUSCO set up in 2013 with mission to eliminate armed groups including FDLR, can just watch while the latter group is collaborating with FARDC.
