APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – Rwandan military on Friday refuted accusations by DR Congo’s armed forces (FARDC) that Rwandan soldiers on Thursday, July 27, crossed the border into North Kivu province.
The statement issued by Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) accused the Congolese army for its continued collaboration with the FDLR, a UN sanctioned genocidal group based in eastern DR Congo for close to three decades. Formed by the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the militia group is at the heart of the insecurity affecting eastern DR Congo and the region.
“The accusations are baseless and part of a long-standing pattern of misinformation and propaganda by the [DR Congo] leadership to divert attention from their internal failures in maintaining peace and security within their own borders, while continuing to support, arm and fight alongside the genocidal militia FDLR,” the RDF said in statement on Friday, July 28.
“The RDF notes the continued trend of false accusations and escalation, which may serve as a pretext for a planned attack by the FARDC/FDLR on Rwandan territory.”
The FARDC issued a statement on Thursday saying the Rwandan army crossed the shared border “to destabilize and intentionally violate the territorial integrity of [DR Congo].
The FARDC’s allegation comes less than 10 days after it said the Rwandan government had issued a statement about a planned attack on DR Congo.
CU/abj/APA