mchambawima1
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- Oct 16, 2014
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Congolese soldiers have been deployed on the border with Rwanda.
A Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) soldier was wounded by Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) as Congolese soldiers scampered for safety after clashing with the genocidal FDLR militia in the eastern part of the volatile but mineral-rich country on Wednesday.
A senior military official monitoring the operations of Rwanda and Congo armed forces' operations along the border told ChimpReports on Friday the latest development points to possible collaboration between FARDC and FDLR.
It all started at around 18:00 hours with FARDC negotiating with a local FDLR commander to establish a position at Cyanzu and Runyoni (Rutshuru) where the FDLR already had several positions.
This followed rumors that RDF was infiltrating battle-hardened Special Forces to hunt down FDLR in the area.
"The FDLR refused to relocate from their positions to give way to FARDC and in the process they exchanged fire," the reliable source told this investigative website.
"Some FARDC elements ran in different directions scampering for safety. The FDLR were using heavy weapons to pursue FARDC before a section found itself near a RDF position called Matara in Kinigi (between Sabyinyo and Gahinga volcanoes)," he added.
"Exchange of fire ensued with RDF mistaking the fleeing FARDC for FDLR. One Congolese soldier was wounded in the process."
The FARDC retreated very fast, leaving some equipment behind them.
The latest incident underlines Rwanda forces' alertness at the border with Congo.
It also confirms widely circulating reports that FDLR has been positioning its fighters close to the border with Rwanda and that the militia works closely with FARDC.
The fighting further underscores the rising tensions between the two countries as Rwanda continues to struggle with the FDLR threat.
DRC information Minister Lambert Mende told BCC yesterday that RDF had crossed into the vast country, a move he described as an incursion.
Rwanda's Envoy to United Nations, Olivier Nduhungirehe dismissed the charge as baloney.
Following the brief gunfire at the border, said impeccable sources, DRC deployed about 250 men of the FARDC 391 Battalion commando along the border in Kibumba and Ruhunda areas.
Rwanda also maintains heavily armed elite units on her side.
FDLR's leaders and their foreign financiers are blamed for the 1994 genocide in which one million people mainly Tutsi were massacred.
They would later carry out atrocities in DRC.
They have since called for talks with President Paul Kagame's government to share power, a proposal which Kigali has repeatedly thrown into the dustbin.
Rwanda Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo recently said the country will maintain its preparedness to deal with FDLR "whether armed or unarmed."
Source: chimpreports
