Published on 29/12/2024
Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) says recent claims by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government forces FARDC that they captured a Rwandan soldier fighting alongside M23 rebels, are false. The M23 also said the claims were ‘a blatant lie and a play staged by government forces’.
FARDC, which is accused of allying with armed groups, including FDLR, claimed Thursday the Rwandan soldier was captured on Saturday on the battlefield in Lubero territory of North Kivu, but Lawrence Kanyuka, Spokesperson of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) group, the political movement under which the M23 falls, dismissed the allegations.
DRC also claimed it had pushed the rebels from the areas of Mambasa and Ndoluma in Lubero Territory of North Kivu but the claim was equally dismissed by M23, which says it is still in control of the area.
“Contrary to the propaganda of the Kinshasa regime, broadcast in a loop on social networks, the AFC/M23 relentlessly continues its fight for the liberation of the DRC,” tweeted Kanyuka.
“On December 25, 2024, the AFC/M23 was warmly welcomed by thousands of residents in Kamandi, in the Lubero territory, where the movement’s leaders preached unity, peace, living together and development. Our organization reaffirms its unwavering commitment to protecting the civilian population,” he added.
The rebels accused DRC government forces of using MONUSCO drones to indiscriminately bombard areas with civilian populations
The allegations were made by Lt Col Mak Hazukay, spokesman for the DR Congo military operation known as Sokola 1 Grand Nord-Kivu, which is fighting M23 rebels. The rebels continue to hold swathes of the province located in Eastern DRC.
In a video that surfaced on social media, FARDC paraded an individual who identified himself as Jean de Dieu Hakizimana Iradukunda, claiming that he was a Rwandan soldier. In broken Kiswahili, laced with Kinyarwanda, claimed that he was a Rwandan commando, trained to shoot military targets with an Dash 2 Rocket Propelled Grenade.
Iradukunda claims he was born in Ngororero district in Western Province as he appears to be forced to give a narrative implicating Rwanda, claims which were also dismissed by Willy Ngoma, M23 Spokesperson, who described the developments as a play scripted by Kinshasa.
“The Congolese military and politicians live off nothing but lies, nothing but lies. They lie day and night, morning and evening… their life is nothing but lies. Saying that they captured a Rwandan soldier is a lie. We are Congolese, we are not Rwandans, we do not have a single soldier from Rwanda here in our M23 army. All these claims are lies, it is just propaganda,” Ngoma said on BBC.
Ngoma said that the statements made by Lt Col Hazukay show that they are afraid of Rwanda yet often they engage in warmongering and threatening to attack Rwanda.
“They are afraid of Rwanda. They know that Rwanda is a strong country militarily. They are very afraid of Rwanda, but we do not have any Rwandan soldiers. We have Congolese who speak Kinyarwanda. It is just another drama acted by Kinshasa,” he said.
Ngoma reiterated that it is DRC which has Rwandans grouped under FDLR, under its ranks, and that is what they should be talking about. “The FDLR are today in the Congolese army, they are the ones working with Rwandans in the so-called Wazalendo group. We speak Kinyarwanda, that soldier is just part of the playbook,” he said.
