Africa
UN Report Shows Rwandan Army Intervened In DRC’s Fight Against M23 Rebels
The militia has captured swathes of territory in the DRC’s restive east since it emerged from dormancy late last year.
A report by a group of independent United Nations experts shows that Rwanda’s army “engaged in military operations” against DR Congo’s military in the country’s troubled east.
The experts said there was “substantial evidence” that the Rwandan army directly intervened in Congo’s fight against M23 rebels, and that it had supported the group with weapons, ammunition and uniforms.
A government spokesman in Kigali denied Rwanda supported the rebels and declined to comment on specific allegations until the findings were formally published.
The report comes as the Democratic Republic of Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the M23.
The militia has captured swathes of territory in the DRC’s restive east since it emerged from dormancy late last year.
Current frontlines lie just 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Goma, a commercial hub of more than one million people.
Rwanda has repeatedly denied that it supports the rebels, but the United States and France, among other Western countries, have agreed with the DRC’s assessment.
According to the UN experts’ report, Rwanda’s military intervened to “reinforce” the M23 as well as to combat the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) — a descendant of Rwandan Hutu extremist groups that carried out the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.
Meanwhile, Rwanda provided troop reinforcements to the M23 “for specific operations, in particular when these were aimed at seizing strategic towns and areas,” the report added.
Rwandan troops also led joint attacks with M23 fighters against Congolese positions in May, according to the report.
The 236-page document for the UN Security Council is expected to be published in the coming days.
