by Nurat Uthman
Rwanda on Saturday denied United States accusations that its forces attacked a displaced persons camp in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), instead blaming the attack on militias it said were backed by the Congolese military.
The United States strongly condemned Friday’s attack, which killed at least nine people, the US State Department said in a statement.
The US statement said the attack came from positions held by the Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group. It said the United States was “gravely concerned about the recent expansion of RDF and M23” in eastern Congo.
Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo denied that the RDF was behind the attack and instead placed the blame on militias backed by the Congolese army.
“RDF, a professional army, would never attack IDPs (displaced persons). Look at the lawless FDLR and Wazalendo supported by the FARDC (Congolese military) for these kinds of atrocities,” she said in a post on X.
The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Hutu group founded by Hutu officials who fled Rwanda after orchestrating the 1994 genocide, while Wazalendo is a Christian sect.
In recent months, a two-year offensive by the M23 rebels has advanced closer to the eastern Congolese city of Goma, prompting thousands of people from surrounding areas to seek refuge in the city. R
