Is the US blocking a UN report on Rwanda involvement in the DRC?
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Roulette
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Rwanda 'supporting DR Congo mutineers'
(Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18231128)
An internal UN report accuses Rwanda of complicity in supplying weapons and soldiers to the rebels in DR Congo.
The UN says it has evidence that a rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being fueled by recruits and support from neighbouring Rwanda.
An internal UN report seen by the BBC cited defecting soldiers, who said they had been trained in Rwanda under the pretext of joining the army, before being sent over the border to fight.The conflict broke out in April after a mutiny by some Congolese army officers.Rwanda's foreign minister told the BBC the UN report is "categorical lies".
"The UN mission in DR Congo is lying; they have not verified anything; they are repeating claims and rumours that we, the Rwandan government, have heard over the last many weeks," Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"What would Rwanda gain in creating instability around its own borders? It does not make sense," Ms Mushikiwabo said.
Rwanda 'prepared for mutiny'. The UN report says some of the mutiny's leaders are former rebel Tutsi officers who had been linked to Rwanda, whose government is dominated by ethnic Tutsis.They were incorporated into the Congolese army in 2009 as part of a peace agreement.
The area has suffered years of fighting since 1994, when more than a million ethnic Hutus fled across the border into DR Congo following the Rwandan genocide, in which some 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered.
Rwanda has twice invaded its much larger neighbour, saying it was trying to take action against Hutu rebels based in DR Congo.
Tens of thousands have fled the recent violence in the eastern DR Congo.
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, says the UN spoke to 11 defectors there.
They had deserted their posts in the mountainous jungle area on the border between the DR Congo and Rwanda.
The UN report says the deserters were Rwandan nationals, recruited in Rwanda under the pretext of joining the Rwandan military.
They were given weapons and training, and then sent into DR Congo.Some of the men were recruited as early as February 2012, the report says.
This is a potentially significant detail, our correspondent says, as if the claim is true, it would suggest Rwanda was preparing for conflict before the mutiny by rebellious officers began in April.One of the deserters, the report says, is a minor.Earlier, there was fresh fighting between government forces and the army mutineers.
A spokesman for the mutineers, Vianney Kazarama, told AFP that the Congolese army was attacking one of their strongholds in North Kivu province with heavy weapons. The mutineers say they belong to the March 23rd Movement which originated from the Tutsi-dominated CNDP rebels. They agreed to be integrated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace accord, which included Rwanda, but recently started to defect en masse, complaining of bad treatment.
Bosco "Terminator" Ntaganda, a Congolese rebel who once fought with Rwanda's army and is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, is accused of masterminding the mutiny after pressure increased for him to be arrested. He denies the claim.
Before the 2009 peace deal, the CNDP militia threatened to invade Goma, leading some 250,000 people to flee. People in and around the town of Goma blame these troops for persistent unrest - including looting and rape - since the formal end of DR Congo's war in 2003.
(Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18231128)
An internal UN report accuses Rwanda of complicity in supplying weapons and soldiers to the rebels in DR Congo.
The UN says it has evidence that a rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being fueled by recruits and support from neighbouring Rwanda.
An internal UN report seen by the BBC cited defecting soldiers, who said they had been trained in Rwanda under the pretext of joining the army, before being sent over the border to fight.The conflict broke out in April after a mutiny by some Congolese army officers.Rwanda's foreign minister told the BBC the UN report is "categorical lies".
"The UN mission in DR Congo is lying; they have not verified anything; they are repeating claims and rumours that we, the Rwandan government, have heard over the last many weeks," Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"What would Rwanda gain in creating instability around its own borders? It does not make sense," Ms Mushikiwabo said.
Rwanda 'prepared for mutiny'. The UN report says some of the mutiny's leaders are former rebel Tutsi officers who had been linked to Rwanda, whose government is dominated by ethnic Tutsis.They were incorporated into the Congolese army in 2009 as part of a peace agreement.
The area has suffered years of fighting since 1994, when more than a million ethnic Hutus fled across the border into DR Congo following the Rwandan genocide, in which some 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered.
Rwanda has twice invaded its much larger neighbour, saying it was trying to take action against Hutu rebels based in DR Congo.
Tens of thousands have fled the recent violence in the eastern DR Congo.
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, says the UN spoke to 11 defectors there.
They had deserted their posts in the mountainous jungle area on the border between the DR Congo and Rwanda.
The UN report says the deserters were Rwandan nationals, recruited in Rwanda under the pretext of joining the Rwandan military.
They were given weapons and training, and then sent into DR Congo.Some of the men were recruited as early as February 2012, the report says.
This is a potentially significant detail, our correspondent says, as if the claim is true, it would suggest Rwanda was preparing for conflict before the mutiny by rebellious officers began in April.One of the deserters, the report says, is a minor.Earlier, there was fresh fighting between government forces and the army mutineers.
A spokesman for the mutineers, Vianney Kazarama, told AFP that the Congolese army was attacking one of their strongholds in North Kivu province with heavy weapons. The mutineers say they belong to the March 23rd Movement which originated from the Tutsi-dominated CNDP rebels. They agreed to be integrated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace accord, which included Rwanda, but recently started to defect en masse, complaining of bad treatment.
Bosco "Terminator" Ntaganda, a Congolese rebel who once fought with Rwanda's army and is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, is accused of masterminding the mutiny after pressure increased for him to be arrested. He denies the claim.
Before the 2009 peace deal, the CNDP militia threatened to invade Goma, leading some 250,000 people to flee. People in and around the town of Goma blame these troops for persistent unrest - including looting and rape - since the formal end of DR Congo's war in 2003.
Roulette
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Is the U.S. blocking a controversial U.N. report to shield Rwanda?
(source:http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/...ng_a_controversial_un_report_to_shield_rwanda)
A senior Congolese diplomat lambasted the United States and other Security Council members for delaying the release of a U.N. investigation linking Rwanda to a military mutiny led by one of the world's most notorious accused war criminals in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Atoki Ileka, Congo's ambassador to France, told Turtle Bay that Security Council members mentioned to him during a visit to New York this week that the United States had sought to hold up publication of the findings. Ileka's remarks, made in a telephone interview from Paris this morning [June 20th 2012], came one day after the United States asked the council to delay the release of the Group of Expert findings for two weeks to give the Rwandan government a chance to review the report, according to council diplomats.
"We cannot wait for the United States and other members of the Security Council to find a convenient way to protect Rwanda," Ileka said.
A spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, Payton Knopf, denied that the United States is trying to quash the report or shield Rwanda from scrutiny. "The U.S. is not blocking a report by the DRC group of experts," Knopf told Turtle Bay. "The United States asked a number of relevant questions and is carefully studying the information presented by the experts in anticipation of council discussions on June 26."
(source:http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/...ng_a_controversial_un_report_to_shield_rwanda)
A senior Congolese diplomat lambasted the United States and other Security Council members for delaying the release of a U.N. investigation linking Rwanda to a military mutiny led by one of the world's most notorious accused war criminals in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Atoki Ileka, Congo's ambassador to France, told Turtle Bay that Security Council members mentioned to him during a visit to New York this week that the United States had sought to hold up publication of the findings. Ileka's remarks, made in a telephone interview from Paris this morning [June 20th 2012], came one day after the United States asked the council to delay the release of the Group of Expert findings for two weeks to give the Rwandan government a chance to review the report, according to council diplomats.
"We cannot wait for the United States and other members of the Security Council to find a convenient way to protect Rwanda," Ileka said.
A spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, Payton Knopf, denied that the United States is trying to quash the report or shield Rwanda from scrutiny. "The U.S. is not blocking a report by the DRC group of experts," Knopf told Turtle Bay. "The United States asked a number of relevant questions and is carefully studying the information presented by the experts in anticipation of council discussions on June 26."
Bukyanagandi
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I think the USA is overly concern by CHINESE influence in the DRC, consequently they will do anything to contain them. Backing up RWANDA regime in this regard is part of their TACTICTS.
Roulette
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| Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has told Al Jazeera that his country is not responsible for a mutiny in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. A recent United Nations report accused Rwanda of supporting a rebel group called the M23 led by Bosco Ntaganda. More than 200,000 people have been displaced in the North Kivu province of the DRC since the mutiny in March and Ntaganda is wanted by the International Criminal Court. The UN report claims that the group of mutineers allegedly received money, political backing, manpower and weapons from Rwanda. It is a charge that Kagame described as "fictitious". Al Jazeera's Peter Greste has this exclusive report from Kigali, Rwanda. |
| Rwanda's Kagame denies funding DRC rebels - Africa - Al Jazeera English |
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