The Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) is calling for the release of two Rwandan soldiers being held by a Rwandan rebel group operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In a statement issued Saturday, Rwanda’s military said the two soldiers were kidnapped while on patrol and accused both the DRC armed forces (FARDC) and the rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) of the cross-border attack.
The FDRL has been accused of committing gross human rights violations in the eastern DRC as well as in neighboring countries. The mainly Hutu FDLR is largely composed of elements widely blamed for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Rwanda’s military said in its statement that it has located the kidnapped soldiers being held by FDLR in the eastern DRC.
“We call upon authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo that work closely with these genocidal armed groups to secure the release of the RDF soldiers,” the statement read.
This development comes just one day the DRC government’s Friday announcement that Kinshasa has evidence that the Rwandan army is supporting the March 23 Movement (M23), another rebel group which the the DRC government classifies as terrorists.
In retaliation for this alleged support, the DRC immediately suspended all flights from Rwanda’s national air carrier from landing on DRC soil.
The Rwanda Defence Force has repeatedly denied supporting the activities of the M23 rebel group in the DRC.
In recent days, fighting has raged between the DRC army and M23 rebels in the northeastern province of North Kivu, forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
The M23 is a group of former rebels from the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP). The name came from the March 23, 2009, agreement between the CNDP and the Congolese government.
M23, who claim the DRC government had violated the 2009 peace deal, briefly seized Goma, North Kivu’s capital, in late 2012 before being pushed back by the army the following year.
Since late 2021, M23 has resumed fighting with the army in the region.
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