Rwanda arrests Gen. Laurent Nkunda
GOMA, Congo-Congolese Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda was arrested in Rwanda after he resisted a joint Rwandan-Congolese military operation designed to pacify eastern Congo, officials said on Friday.
GOMA, Congo-Congolese Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda was arrested in Rwanda after he resisted a joint Rwandan-Congolese military operation designed to pacify eastern Congo, officials said on Friday.
The arrest of Nkunda, who has led a Tutsi rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since 2004, occurred during the joint Congolese-Rwandan operation which was launched this week to hunt Rwandan Hutu militiamen operating in Congo.
Wars, rebellions and ethnic violence since 1998 have killed more than five million Congolese, holding back the development of the huge former Belgian colony in central Africa, which is rich in minerals like copper, cobalt, coltan, gold and uranium.
“Ex-general Laurent Nkunda was arrested on Thursday, January 22 at 2230 hours while he was fleeing on Rwandan territory after he had resisted our troops at Bunagana with three battalions,†Congolese and Rwandan military commanders said in a statement.
The statement, read at a news conference in the eastern border city of Goma, gave no more details. A Congolese minister said Congo’s government would ask Rwanda to extradite Nkunda.
A Congolese army colonel, who asked not to be named, said Nkunda and rebels loyal to him had fought against Rwandan and Congolese troops when they arrived at Bunagana, a town on the border with Uganda in Congo’s North Kivu province.
Nkunda’s leadership of his Tutsi rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) group had been challenged this year by dissident rebel commanders who last week ended hostilities with the Congolese government.
The commanders’ statement urged the Tutsi fighters loyal to Nkunda to disarm and integrate into the Congo government army.
In the joint operation, more than 3,500 Rwandan troops have crossed the border into Congo to join Congolese government forces in trying to disarm Rwandan Hutu FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) rebels.
The operation, marking unprecedented cooperation between the Great Lakes neighbours after years of mutual suspicion and hostility, follows international pressure for an end the conflict.
Congo had in the past accused Rwanda’s government of backing Nkunda, while Rwanda had denounced Congolese army cooperation with the FDLR.
The FDLR, which emerged after Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, has been widely viewed as the root cause of more than a decade of violence in east Congo, which has included Nkunda’s rival Tutsi insurgency.
Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s government welcomed the news of Nkunda's arrest.
“We ask the Rwandan government to respect international law and extradite General Nkunda to Congo,†said Agriculture Minister Norbert Kantitima.
In Kampala most politicians said Nkunda’s arrest would lead to the pacification of the eastern DRC, which would in turn help stabilise the region.
Aggrey Awori, a former MP, said Nkunda’s capture had saved Uganda ’s relationship with the DRC since he was trying to involve Uganda in diplomatic efforts to bargain for him. “He has been a difficult person who has messed up eastern DRC.†Opposition leader Prof. Ogenga Latigo said Rwanda was being strategic by capturing Nkunda because it wants to be in good books of the new US government. “Rwanda is just an early bird that catches the worm,†Ogenga said. “It knows that the new administration in the US will not tolerate instability in the DRC.â€
The chairperson of the Parliamentary committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, Mathias Kasamba said: “I don’t think his capture will affect us because he hasn’t been a threat to us apart from the refugee influx.â€
The commander of the UPDF land forces, Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala said: “We have nothing to do with Nkunda. He’s a Congolese rebel and doesn’t affect us.â€
Additional reporting by Ben Okiror
The arrest of Nkunda, who has led a Tutsi rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since 2004, occurred during the joint Congolese-Rwandan operation which was launched this week to hunt Rwandan Hutu militiamen operating in Congo.
Wars, rebellions and ethnic violence since 1998 have killed more than five million Congolese, holding back the development of the huge former Belgian colony in central Africa, which is rich in minerals like copper, cobalt, coltan, gold and uranium.
“Ex-general Laurent Nkunda was arrested on Thursday, January 22 at 2230 hours while he was fleeing on Rwandan territory after he had resisted our troops at Bunagana with three battalions,†Congolese and Rwandan military commanders said in a statement.
The statement, read at a news conference in the eastern border city of Goma, gave no more details. A Congolese minister said Congo’s government would ask Rwanda to extradite Nkunda.
A Congolese army colonel, who asked not to be named, said Nkunda and rebels loyal to him had fought against Rwandan and Congolese troops when they arrived at Bunagana, a town on the border with Uganda in Congo’s North Kivu province.
Nkunda’s leadership of his Tutsi rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) group had been challenged this year by dissident rebel commanders who last week ended hostilities with the Congolese government.
The commanders’ statement urged the Tutsi fighters loyal to Nkunda to disarm and integrate into the Congo government army.
In the joint operation, more than 3,500 Rwandan troops have crossed the border into Congo to join Congolese government forces in trying to disarm Rwandan Hutu FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) rebels.
The operation, marking unprecedented cooperation between the Great Lakes neighbours after years of mutual suspicion and hostility, follows international pressure for an end the conflict.
Congo had in the past accused Rwanda’s government of backing Nkunda, while Rwanda had denounced Congolese army cooperation with the FDLR.
The FDLR, which emerged after Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, has been widely viewed as the root cause of more than a decade of violence in east Congo, which has included Nkunda’s rival Tutsi insurgency.
Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s government welcomed the news of Nkunda's arrest.
“We ask the Rwandan government to respect international law and extradite General Nkunda to Congo,†said Agriculture Minister Norbert Kantitima.
In Kampala most politicians said Nkunda’s arrest would lead to the pacification of the eastern DRC, which would in turn help stabilise the region.
Aggrey Awori, a former MP, said Nkunda’s capture had saved Uganda ’s relationship with the DRC since he was trying to involve Uganda in diplomatic efforts to bargain for him. “He has been a difficult person who has messed up eastern DRC.†Opposition leader Prof. Ogenga Latigo said Rwanda was being strategic by capturing Nkunda because it wants to be in good books of the new US government. “Rwanda is just an early bird that catches the worm,†Ogenga said. “It knows that the new administration in the US will not tolerate instability in the DRC.â€
The chairperson of the Parliamentary committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, Mathias Kasamba said: “I don’t think his capture will affect us because he hasn’t been a threat to us apart from the refugee influx.â€
The commander of the UPDF land forces, Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala said: “We have nothing to do with Nkunda. He’s a Congolese rebel and doesn’t affect us.â€
Additional reporting by Ben Okiror