UN confirms Rwandan army attacks in DRC
This aerial photograph taken on April 1, 2022 shows Mount Sabyinyo, a hideout of the M23/ARC armed group, which marks the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.
AFP - ALEXIS HUGUET
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Rwanda would support the rebels of the M23, a very active armed group in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This is one of the conclusions of a report by experts commissioned by the UN unveiled today by AFP.
According to this investigation transmitted to the Security Council, the Rwandan army would have been present and would have intervened on Congolese soil in recent months, against armed movements, but also in support of other groups such as the M23.
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According to UN experts, the Rwandan army has “
launched military interventions against Congolese armed groups and positions of the Congolese armed forces
”.
This lasted between November 2021 and June 2022.
The investigators reveal that Kigali has "
provided troop reinforcements to the M23 for specific operations
", in particular to "
seize cities and strategic areas
".
The capture, on June 13, by the rebels, of the locality of Bunagana, in North Kivu, is cited as an example.
The experts have collected drone images, amateur videos and photos and testimonials.
These elements reveal large columns of several hundred men near the borders of the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, moving in uniforms similar to those of the Rwandans.
Two weeks before the attack on Bunagana, the Congolese base at Rumangabo was under shellfire and automatic weapons fire.
"
The M23 and Rwandan soldiers jointly attacked
," say the investigators, adding that Rwandan columns of 900 to 1,000 men "
cut the RN12 for days and attacked, then dislodged the FARDC from their positions
".
Although at the end of May, the Congolese army counter-attacked, with the help of other armed groups.
Finally, the report points to the operations, at the end of May and the beginning of June, on Congolese soil, of 300 Rwandan soldiers against the FDLR and CMC/FDP movements.
In short, this investigation goes completely against the official position of Rwanda, which has always denied the presence of its soldiers in eastern Congo.
► To read also: DRC: "The anger of public opinion has evolved into an anti-Monusco sentiment"
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