Foreign minister accuses DR Congo of downplaying threat of its FDLR
Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sunday accused the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of downplaying the threat of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia group to his country.
Olivier Nduhungirehe made the remarks after Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya earlier on the same day questioned how a rebel group that fled Rwanda in 1994, could pose a credible threat to Kigali 32 years later.
The FDLR and the March 23 Movement (M23) armed groups in eastern Congo have been at the center of frosty relations between the two neighboring countries.
Rwanda accuses the Congolese army of working with the FDLR to fight the M23 rebels, while Kinshasa also accuses Kigali of supporting M23, a charge Rwanda consistently denies.
Rwanda regards the FDLR as a terrorist group, whose elements are linked to the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, and it has maintained that demobilization and repatriation of its elements to Rwanda is “a non-negotiable requirement to protect Rwanda’s territorial integrity.”
