EngRegional
Rwanda concerned as over 2,000 European mercenaries, DRC army, link with genocidal militia
Dr Vincent Biruta, Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation during the diplomatic briefing on October 11.
Rwanda has raised concerns over more than 2,000
mercenaries from eastern Europe working with DRC's armed forces and the
FDLR genocidal militia to fight against M23.
The issue was raised during the diplomatic
briefing held by the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation on October 11.
Speaking about regional matters, Vincent
Biruta, the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said
that fighting has reignited, between the Kinshasa-backed coalition of illegal
armed groups - which includes the FDLR - against the M23, following the
Congolese government’s ultimatum ordering the M23 group to withdraw from all
controlled territories or be met with force.
He shared concerns that the presence and
participation in the conflict of the more than 2, 000 mercenaries from eastern
Europe, together with the increasingly hostile rhetoric by Kinshasa, “present a
continued and heightened security threat to Rwanda.”
He highlighted the selective implementation of
the Luanda roadmap.
Whenever the issue of cantonment is raised, it
concerns only one group and not the more than 200 armed groups currently active
in eastern DRC, he said.
He emphasized that FDLR must be cantoned and
dismantled. The international community cannot claim to support the ongoing
regional processes and, at the same time, minimise the threat posed by the
Kinshasa-backed FDLR genocidal militia, he noted.
Biruta reiterated that Rwanda prioritises the
security of its citizens and residents.
He said Rwanda will not initiate an escalation
with the DRC. "The defensive and preventive measures on Rwanda’s
borders will remain in place should its security be endangered.”
He reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to the
ongoing regional peace frameworks and called on the international partners to
collaborate with the region and address the root causes of the crisis.
Meanwhile , the East African Community (EAC)
has said it is “deeply concerned” by the escalation of hostilities by armed
groups in eastern DRC, especially in the areas of operation of the bloc’s
regional force.
In a statement on Thursday, October 12, EAC
Secretary-General Peter Mathuki said there was “deteriorating security
situation” in North Kivu province, where the Congolese army and a coalition of
militias fight the M23 rebel group.
Mathuki said the hostilities “stand in stark
contrast to the envisioned peaceful resolution of the conflict through the
EAC-Led Nairobi Process.”
