A new report expected to be releasedWednesday describes the joint military operation of Congo and Rwanda to flushout Rwandan Hutu rebels from the Democratic Republic of Congo as a failure. The report says the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR)rebels are still attacking ordinary Congolese despite the offensive againstthem. But both Kinshasa and Kigali maintain the operation was a success. FDLRrebels have been in eastern Congo since the flight of Hutu extremists following their involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
FellelLutaicheiowa is deputy governor of Goma, the capital of Congo's restive NorthKivu province. He told VOA the aim of the military offensive was achieved.
"Ithink that the joint military Rwandese and Congolese forces have attained theirobjective because this operation destroyed all headquarters of this FDLR.And I think also, as you know, we had about six thousand Rwandese who went back totheir country, but also, the Congolese army is continuing with the operation," Lutaicheiowa said.
He said Kinshasa is workingwith the UN Mission in the country (MONUC) to find ways of resolving thechallenges the rebels present.
"I think that now FARDC (theCongolese national army) are planning with MONUC to finish this problem. Also,local leaders are continuing sensitization to see if this FDLR and manyRwandese refugees can come back to their own country without fighting," hesaid.
Lutaicheiowa said the rebelshave been in Congo for a considerable amount of time, which makes it difficultfor them to be dealt with decisively.
"You know, the FDLR havebeen in our country 15 years, and as you also know, the joint militaryoperation took only one month. And in one month, we do not think that we couldresolve all these problems. And now we have many of the rebels of the FDLR,about two thousand of them, who have been hiding in our bush. And I think wewill have a solution with FARDC together with MONUC. And I do think that withthis, we will have a solution about this challenge of FDLR," Lutaicheiowa said.
He said things are undercontrol, although he would not divulge plans to deal with future threats of therebels.
"As you know, we can't talkabout this security operation. But we have to converse with our forces as nowthe operation taking place is to deal with this issue of FDLR. And I think thatin a short time, we will have a solution to this," he said.
According to Kinshasa, the joint Rwandan-DRC forces accomplished 65percent of the military operation against the Hutu rebels, dealing a heavy blowto their insurgency. The governments claimed satisfaction from the 334 childsoldiers removed from FDLR control by the offensive. The joint operation waslaunched on Jan. 20, and reportedly led to the arrest of Edmond Garamba, theFDLR's spokesman.
TheFLDR rebel group has often been accused of committing gross atrocities againstCongolese citizens, including rapes, looting, and killings. The rebel group is also blamed for being the root cause ofCongo's internal conflicts and external tensions with Rwanda. Under an Africanplan to restore stability in the Great Lakes region, Kinshasa and Kigali decidedto join forces in December to uproot the longstanding, troublesome rebelinsurgency.
Kinshasa invited thousands of Rwandan troops to join the anti-FDLRoperation in January, citing article 91 of the Constitution. It marked aturnaround from mutual hostilities which led to a severance of their diplomaticrelations in the 1990s.
TheFDLR rebel group combines a mix of key members of the 1994 genocide, plus Hutumembers of the former Rwandan army, and various other displaced Rwandan Hutus.During its lengthy stay in eastern Congo, the group fought alongside a formerCongolese government to stave off the largest Congolese rebel movement at thetime, the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD).
The RCD was reportedlybacked by the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan government, and is now part of Congo'stransitional government, which officially ended five years of war in July,2003.
So far, the UN Peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC)has been trying to help repatriate FDLR troops to Rwanda. On November 14, 2003,more than 100 heavily armed FDLR fighters crossed the border into Rwanda fromthe eastern Congolese town of Bukavu. Hundreds more had already startedgathering in towns close to Bukavu. How many of the estimated 15- to20-thousand FDLR fighters in eastern Congo will return ultimately depends onhow many of them are granted amnesty, according to UN sources.