Regional
DRC: Congolese army at forefront of killing Rwandophones
In
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the persecution and killing of
Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese is a matter that never ceases to make headlines
in the media, especially social media where gruesome videos and pictures
capturing these atrocities circulate daily.
Spearheading
most of these massacres are the Congolese army soldiers in a coalition with the
Rwandan genocidal militia, FDLR, the APCLS, and Mai Mai groups; inciting,
encouraging and collaborating with Congolese negative forces to persecute
Rwandophones.
On March
18, in Kimoka village in Masisi territory located in North Kivu, two FARDC
officers, Col Gatali Ngarukiye Céléstin, Lt Gahaya Adrien, and their escorts
were killed by their compatriots that are in the coalition of Mai Mai APCLS and
FDLR combatants.
The
reason of their deaths was because they were all Rwandophones. This kind of
animosity has been witnessed in different areas on several occasions, in
January 2023, in Kisangani, a Lt Col of the FARDC was attacked and molested by
his fellow military and police officers.
One would
have thought that a FARDC officer will spare a Rwandophone’s life. But that is
wishful thinking. The Genocide ideology planted in DRC by the FDLR has been spreading
like a wild fire in the population as well as in Congolese soldiers.
The
FDLR is a militia group mainly made up of people responsible for the 1994
Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. They were openly integrated within the
Congolese military and now continue their genocide agenda, especially on
Congolese Tutsi, from within.
On
several occasions, senior Congolese government and military officials have come
on record to call upon the population to take up arms and kill
Kinyarwanda-speaking compatriots or even Rwandans living in the neighbouring
country.
Trouble
is, Kinshasa is fanning hatred and encouraging or turning a blind eye to the
Kinyarwanda speaking community’s suffering presumably on grounds that people in
this community are agents of Rwanda fighting alongside M23 rebels and that they
are simply not Congolese.
This
violence inflicted on members of the Rwandophone community in DRC is fueled by
military and police personnel.