UN says fewer than 1,000 DFLR soldiers remain in Congo

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) announced this Saturday that there are fewer than a thousand fighters from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) accused by Kinshasa of violence in the east of the country.

The Rwandan government accuses the Congolese authorities of funding this group, which, along with militias such as the March 23 Movement (M23), has turned North Kivu into a scene of violence that has already resulted in hundreds of thousands of displaced people and refugees. , just in recent months.

“We have already repatriated 30,000 Rwandans, including FDLR fighters and their families, and today we believe that there are less than a thousand fighters of this organization on Congolese soil,” said Jean-Claude Bahati Muhindo, head of the MONUSCO disarmament and demobilization department. during a press conference in Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

However, MONUSCO warns that this huge reduction in fighters does not make the group any less dangerous, as FDLR is “different from other armed groups” in that they are a very well organized force.

FDLR are Rwandan Hutu rebels who are considered guilty of genocide by the Kigali regime and have been on Congolese soil since 1994, after the fall of Juvénal Habyarimana’s regime.

This military group is accused of various abuses and crimes, documented by international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

The Congolese government denies all allegations of funding FDLR and accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 movement, which is escalating the situation despite the easing of the conflict in recent months.

This Saturday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on African leaders to step up efforts to bring peace to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“The time has come to end the violence. I reiterate my call to all armed groups: immediately lay down your arms and join the process of demobilization, disarmament and reintegration,” Guterres said during a meeting in Burundi, which was attended by leaders from several African countries that signed a UN-brokered agreement in 2013 about promoting stability in that country.

“Despite our collective efforts, more than a hundred armed groups – Congolese and foreign – continue to operate today and thereby threaten the stability of the entire Great Lakes region,” the UN Secretary General recalled.