By RFIPalled on 28-01-2019Modified on 28-01-2019 at 09:12

While Paul Kagame was to go to Kinshasa with a delegation of African Union heads of state and called for the suspension of the proclamation of the final results of the presidential election, the Congolese government extradited in secret two members of the FDLR, the Rwandan Hutu rebels, including his spokesman, La Forge Fils Bazeye, in Kigali [info RFI].

Congolese authorities accuse La Forge Fils Bazeye of being part of a plot with other Rwandan groups, including General Kayumba Nyamwasa's RNC opposition party, to attack Rwanda from Congolese soil. His family fears that he has been used as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Rwanda and get the cancellation of the visit of a delegation , led by President Kagame, of African Union heads of state to Kinshasa.

His brother Pierre-Célestin Ruhumuliza even said to fear for his life.

As soon as there was the announcement of the impending arrival of Kagame and his delegation, automatically the regime of Kabila, who was leaving, sent a delegation (...). This delegation, I suspect that there must be something with the fate of my brother ...

Pierre-Célestin Ruhumuliza, brother La Forge Fils Bazeye

28-01-2019 - By Sonia Rolley

But the Congolese authorities assure that the extradition of La Forge Fils Bazeye has nothing to do with any political lobbying. " Bazeye was arrested by us after his stay in Kampala, " said a Congolese security source.

The emblematic spokesman of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) was arrested on December 15, at the border in Bunagana, with another cadre of the Rwandan Hutu rebellion, Theophile Abega. These arrests were announced the following day, not by the Congolese government, but by the Rwandan government, which had immediately requested their extradition.

A plot to attack Rwanda from Congolese soil

Congolese side, it was not concealed his reluctance at the time to send the two FDLR Kigali. It is said today that he needed time to study the situation, the documents and the telephones seized, and to have discovered a plot.

A Congolese security source says the FDLR spokesperson met senior Ugandan officials with other groups, including the Rwandan National Congress (RNC) led by General Kayumba Nyamwasa. Objective: to attack Rwanda from Congolese soil.

These are the same accusations that we find in a letter from the Congolese Minister of Defense. On 18 January, in the aftermath of the Addis Ababa summit, Crispin Atama Tabe sought the support of the blue helmets from Leila Zerrougui, the patron saint of Monusco, to thwart the realization of this " macabre project ".

This letter, Monusco received it, only after the cancellation of the visit of African heads of state in Kinshasa.

On the side of the UN mission, it is said not to have refused assistance to the FARDC, but to have informed the Congolese authorities of the presence, within the armed group they were targeting, of thousands of civilians, including women and children. All are dependent on FDLR dissident fighters, the CNRD.

RNC denies its involvement

The RNC denies for its part to have links with the FDLR and said to find the timing of the accusations of the Congolese and Rwandan governments very suspicious while Kigali and Kinshasa are said to be cold. General Kayumba Nyamwasa's party recalls calling for a dialogue in a letter to President Kagame with other Rwandan political parties, including the FDU of Victoire Ingabire.

" The government of Rwanda is not ready to talk, they seek to use the RNC as a scarecrow not to have to negotiate, said Jean-Paul Turayishimye, a spokesman for the RNC. They accuse us of being terrorists, of having armed groups in the DRC - which do not exist - we are dealing with everything, simply to avoid having to dialogue with the opposition. They are trying, thanks to that, to get the support of the international community. But what is really suspicious is that the Rwandan government managed to use the Congolese government to relay this type of information, just before the inauguration ceremony of the new president. And it is all the more suspicious that these accusations are made while President Kagame was to lead a delegation in the DRC. So it's ridiculous, it's incredible that the Rwandan and Congolese governments are using us as their scapegoat. "

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