Africa

Rwanda denies its troops attacked displaced persons camp in DRC

Rwandan President Paul Kagame. (Photo: File/Handout)

By Reuters | Saturday, May 4, 2024

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo denied the RDF was behind the attack and instead blamed it on militias supported by the Congolese military.

Rwanda on Saturday denied US accusations that its forces attacked a displaced persons' camp in the eastern DRC and instead blamed militias it said were supported by the Congolese military for the assault.

The US strongly condemned Friday's attack, which killed at least nine people, the US State Department said in a statement.

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The attack was mounted from positions held by the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) and the M23 rebel group, the US statement said, adding it was "gravely concerned about the recent RDF and M23 expansion" in eastern Congo.

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo denied the RDF was behind the attack and instead blamed it on militias supported by the Congolese military.

"The RDF, a professional army, would never attack an IDP (displaced persons). Look to the lawless FDLR and Wazalendo, supported by the FARDC (Congolese military), for this kind of atrocity," she said in a post on X.

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Hutu group founded by Hutu officials who fled Rwanda after orchestrating the 1994 genocide, while Wazalendo is a Christian sect.

A two-year offensive by M23 rebels has moved closer to the eastern Congolese city of Goma in recent months, prompting thousands to seek refuge in the city from surrounding areas.