{"id":21474,"date":"2022-07-05T08:36:03","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T08:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2"},"modified":"2022-07-05T09:05:47","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T09:05:47","slug":"un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2","title":{"rendered":"UN report: FDLR controls DR Congo\u2019s Virunga National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>A latest report by a United Nations Group of Experts has revealed that the FDLR, a terrorist group responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, controls part of DR Congo and currently involved in mass recruitment across the eastern part of the country.<\/p>\n

The report dated June 14, 2022 and submitted to the UN Security Council, a copy of which The New Times has seen, indicates that the FDLR also controls all businesses and operations that happen within the park on the DR Congo side.<\/p>\n

\u201cFDLR remained active in Virunga National Park, launched a new recruitment drive and consolidated its cooperation with local armed groups,\u201d reads part of the report.<\/p>\n

The group, which was formed by remnants of the forces that executed the Genocide against the Tutsi, has for years been operating in eastern Congo from where they launch offensives on Rwandan territory, killing civilians.<\/p>\n

The park, which borders Rwanda\u2019s Volcanoes National Park, is being used as the terrorist group\u2019s base, where they hold hostages, some of whom released after paying a ransom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is impossible for anyone to operate in the Park without at least the tacit consent of FDLR or some of its members, as the Park is controlled by that armed group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experts who compiled the report indicated that they spoke to several sources who attested that all FDLR attacks occurred within a few hundred meters from the DR Congo (FARDC) FARDC positions.<\/p>\n

Despite some of its leaders killed and following various military operations FDLR continued to recruit and provide training to several local armed groups and according to the report, since 2020, the leadership and organizational structure of FDLR did not change much.<\/p>\n

The leadership<\/b><\/p>\n

Sanctioned individual \u201cLieutenant-General\u201d Gaston Iyamuremye, alias Rumuli or Victor Byiringiro was appointed president and political leader, replacing Ignace Murwanashyaka who died in German prison in 2019.<\/p>\n

Pacifique Ntawunguka, alias Omega has since assumed leadership of the military wing after the death of Sylvestre Mudacumura, who was killed in combat in 2019 and is assisted by Jean Baptiste Gakwerere, alias Julius Mkobo, Sobo Stany or Kolomboka.<\/p>\n

Other leaders of the outfit include Cur\u00e9 Ngoma, based in Muchababwe near Bukombo, are in charge of FDLR political affairs while Apollinaire Hakizimana alias Amikwe Lepic or Po\u00e8te, based in FDLR\u2019s base known as Mozambique next to Kibirizi serves as \u201cDefense commissioner. Aim\u00e9 Gustave Omega, located in Birambizo, is mentioned in the report as the head of intelligence.<\/p>\n

The UN report also indicated that the Protog\u00e8ne Ruvugayimikore, alias Ruhinda, and his deputy known as \u201cSilencieux\u201d, leads an elite unit known as Commando de Recherche et d\u2019Action en Profondeur (CRAP) while Ruhinda also oversaw the training of FDLR combatants.<\/p>\n

For long, Rwanda has accused the DRC government for failure to kick out the FDLR.<\/p>\n

In fact, reports backed by evidence indicate that DR Congo army operates alongside FDLR in fighting other armed groups.<\/p>\n

The same stand was maintained by Rwanda\u2019s Permanent Representative at the UN, Claver Gatete on Wednesday, June 29 during the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the DR Congo.<\/p>\n

\u201cFARDC should avoid the tendency of forging alliances with hostile and sanctioned armed groups to fight other armed groups. It is counterproductive and undermines the commitment of the region and the United Nations to stabilise eastern DRC,\u201d Gatete said.<\/p>\n

MONUSCO, the UN mission in DR Congo has been supporting the Congolese army (FARDC) in fighting M23 rebels. The alliance between FARDC and MONUSCO, according to Gatete, puts MONUSCO in a very difficult position, because supporting FARDC while it fights alongside FDLR is tantamount to supporting a genocidal armed group.<\/p>\n

A blanc cheque<\/b><\/p>\n

Reacting to the UN Group of Experts report, Albert Rudatsimburwa, an analyst of regional security affairs said that the report is just a confirmation of what is already known that the FDLR was given a free pass to operate freely in the DR Congo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is as though the FDLR was handed a blank cheque. What makes it worse is, they are not operating deep inside DRC, they are operating just near the border with Rwanda and the DRC government gave them that piece of the country to control it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rudatsimburwa, who is also a veteran journalist, also piled blame on the Congolese government and MONUSCO for failure to eliminate the FDLR.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all know where the FDLR is and what it is doing. The international community knows it, MONUSCO knows it and so is the DRC government but they have not done anything about it. This is proof of lack of willingness to deal with a genocidal force,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, during the UN Security Briefing on DRC, some western countries said that Rwanda should not accuse MONUSCO of working with the FDLR \u2013 a claim that Rudatsimburwa called misplaced and intended to cover up some interests in MONUSCO\u2019s wrong doings.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than anyone else, Rwanda knows how important peacekeeping is and that is why Rwanda can never accuse any peacekeeping mission of wrong doings without evidence. Those defending MONUSCO know that it would put them in danger if the accusations persist but Rwanda should not be silent about MONUSCO operating in a criminal way,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He added that claims that lives of MONUSCO peacekeepers would be in danger if Rwanda persists with the accusation are wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cRwanda\u2019s point is, is it true or not? Rwanda knows much more about the value of lives of blue helmets than those claiming to be speaking for them. And Rwanda doesn\u2019t take their lives and contribution lightly. If Rwanda is not lying then they shouldn\u2019t silence them,\u201d said Rudatsimburwa.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. A latest report by a United Nations Group of Experts has revealed that the FDLR, a terrorist group responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, controls part of DR Congo and currently involved in mass recruitment across the eastern part of the country. The report dated June 14, 2022 and submitted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":21473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,28,14],"tags":[760,763,758],"class_list":["post-21474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nUN report: FDLR controls DR Congo\u2019s Virunga National Park - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A latest report by a United Nations Group of Experts has revealed that the FDLR, a terrorist group responsible for the 1 ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UN report: FDLR controls DR Congo\u2019s Virunga National Park\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A latest report by a United Nations Group of Experts has revealed that the FDLR, a terrorist group responsible for the 1 ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-05T08:36:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-05T09:05:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/07\/postQueueImg_14-62c3fed85ac0a.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"578\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"UN report: FDLR controls DR Congo\u2019s Virunga National Park\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-05T08:36:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-05T09:05:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2\"},\"wordCount\":956,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/07\/postQueueImg_14-62c3fed85ac0a.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/un-report-fdlr-controls-dr-congos-virunga-national-park-2\",\"name\":\"UN report: FDLR controls DR Congo\u2019s Virunga National Park - 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