Congo Planning Attack - Rwanda
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New Vision (Kampala)
June 21, 2004
Posted to the web June 21, 2004
Kigali
Rwanda's foreign minister accused neighbouring Congo Saturday of preparing to attack
his country with the help of Rwandan insurgents who fled after leading the 1994
genocide.
Foreign Minister Charles Murigande said the Congolese government has positioned
thousands of troops near the border with Rwanda - and has rearmed Rwandan insurgents,
including members of the former army and extremist Interahamwe militia who played a
central role in the 100-day genocide in Rwanda.
"This heavy deployment of Congolese soldiers and Rwandan rebels is a big threat to the
security of our country," Murigande warned. "Certainly we shall not sit back and watch
these developments, we have a country and people to defend."
Congo's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Henry Mova Sakanyi denied the charges,
dismissing them as "fabrications."
Tensions rose between the two countries earlier this month after Congo accused Rwanda
of backing renegade Congolese troops who seized control of the strategic eastern city
of Bukavu for a week.
Rwanda denied the charges and closed its borders with Congo while awaiting independent
investigations into the claims.
Sakanyi repeated claims that Rwandan troops were in Congo in violation of the peace
deal signed between the two nations.
Rwanda sent troops into Congo in August 1998 to help Congolese rebels oust then
President Laurent Kabila, who they believed had supported Rwandan insurgents
involved in the slaughter of at least 500,000 minority Tutsis and political moderates
from the Hutu majority.
Relevant Links
Central Africa
Congo-Kinshasa
Civil War and Communal Conflict
Conflict, Peace and Security
Rwanda
Rwanda withdrew troops from Congo in November 2002 after signing a peace deal under
which Congo agreed to disarm Rwandan insurgents based in the country and hand them
over to Rwandan authorities.
Rwanda has since complained that Congo has failed to keep its side of the bargain.
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