Rwandan minister ‘commands rebels’ in Democratic Republic of Congo

Rwanda’s defence minister is commanding a rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) armed by Rwanda and Uganda, both of which sent troops to aid a deadly attack on United Nations’ peacekeepers, it was claimed yesterday.

The UN Security Council’s Group of Experts in a confidential report said that Rwanda and Uganda – despite their denials – continued to support M23 rebels in their six-month fight against Congolese government troops in North Kivu province.

“Both Rwanda and Uganda have been supporting M23,” said the 44-page report. “While Rwandan officials co-ordinated the creation of the rebel movement as well as its major military operations, Uganda’s more subtle support to M23 allowed the rebel group’s political branch to operate from within Kampala and boost its external relations,” it said.

Bosco Ntaganda, a former Congolese general wanted for alleged war crimes, controls the rebellion on the ground and M23 leader Sultani Makenga is in charge of operations, the UN report said.

Both men “receive direct military orders from RDF [Rwandan army] chief of defence staff General Charles Kayonga, who in turn acts on instructions from minister of defence General James Kabarebe,” it said.

Uganda and Rwanda have denied involvement. But the UN experts reported their role to the Security Council’s Congo sanctions committee earlier this month. “Rwandan officials exercise overall command and strategic planning for M23,” the report said. “Rwanda continues to violate the arms embargo through direct military support to M23 rebels, facilitation of recruitment, encouragement and facilitation of FARDC [Congolese army] desertions as well as the provision of arms and ammunition, intelligence, and political advice.”

“UPDF [Ugandan army] commanders sent troops and weapons to reinforce specific M23 operations and assisted in M23’s recruitment and weapons procurement efforts in Uganda,” it said.

Nearly half a million people have been displaced by the fighting. M23 has proven so resilient that one senior UN diplomatic said that Rwanda has effectively “annexed” mineral-rich eastern Congo thanks to the rebel force.

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said last month that the rebels had were running eastern DRC, controlling the people and collecting taxes.

The rebellion is also being funded by traders in Rwanda who profit from tin, tungsten and tantalum smuggled across the border from mines in eastern DRC, said the UN report.

Rwanda has backed armed movements in the Congo during the past two decades, citing a need to tackle Rwandan rebels operating out of Congo’s hills.

The new report said that M23 had expanded its control of Rutshuru Territory with extensive foreign support in July 2012 and had taken advantage of a recent informal ceasefire “to expand alliances and command proxy operations elsewhere.”

The experts said that units of the Ugandan and Rwandan armies “jointly supported M23 in a series of attacks in July 2012 to take over the major towns in Rutshuru Territory, and the [Congolese army] base of Rumangabo.”

During these attacks, the rebels killed a UN peacekeeper and fired on a UN peacekeeping base at Kiwanja.