Kagame-Tshisekedi counter accusations over DR Congo massacre by M23
Pres Kagame of Rwanda accuses DR Congo of 'fabricating' the M23 massacre in which 131 civilians were left dead
Pres Kagame of Rwanda accuses DR Congo of ‘fabricating’ the M23 massacre in which 131 civilians were left dead.
Rwanda on Wednesday accused the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo of “fabricating” a massacre, which a United Nations probe said was committed by M23 rebels and left 131 civilians dead.
A claim made by Kinshasa that its neighbor, Rwanda, is supporting the M23 has been refuted by Rwanda but endorsed by the US, France, Belgium, and UN experts.
In recent months, the militia has taken control of territory in the turbulent and mineral-rich east of the DRC, escalating tensions with Rwanda.
A truce deal was made possible by discussions between the DRC and Rwanda in Angola last month, but Kinshasa afterward accused M23 of massacring civilians in the village of Kishishe, with a UN investigation finding that 131 people had been killed.
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“The sensationalized ‘Kishishe massacre’, a fabrication of the DRC government that it attributed to M23, has quickly spread without any investigation of the facts by any credible entity,” the Rwandan government said on Wednesday.
“The incident was in fact an armed confrontation between M23 and illegal armed groups allied to” the Congolese armed forces, it said.
“Accusing Rwanda of support to the Congolese armed group M23 is wrong and distracts from the real cause of continued conflict in eastern DRC, and its impact on the security of neighboring states, including Rwanda,” it added.
M23 has denied being behind the massacre, blaming “stray bullets” for the deaths of just eight civilians.
Kigali has repeatedly accused Kinshasa of colluding with the FDLR — a former Rwandan Hutu rebel group established in the DRC after the 1994 genocide of mainly Tutsis in Rwanda.
The M23, a Tutsi-led rebel organization, rose to prominence when it overran the city of Goma in eastern Congo in 2012 before being forced out and going underground.
However, it reappeared in the latter part of last year, alleging that the DRC had broken a promise to incorporate its fighters into the army.
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