DRC-Rwanda: More than 8000 FDLR rebels have surrendered
By RNA Reporter
May 19, 2009
Photo: MONUC's Boss, Allan Doss
Kigali: The top UN envoy in DR Congo has defended the controversial peacekeeping mission arguing that it has even “neutralised” Rwandan FDLR rebels forcing more than eight thousand (8000) to surrender to Rwanda, RNA reports.
Congolese government forces assisted by the UN forces “have pushed the remaining FDLR rebels into the mountains”, according to Allan Doss, the mission’s chief who was appearing on the BBC Hard-Talk programme Tuesday afternoon.
The joint-operation will “not only push them out, but neutralize them”, Mr. Doss told host Stephen Sackur – as the British diplomat struggled to defend the 17,000 force accused grave abuses.
He said the operations have disrupted the rebels out of the mines they have controlled for years – using proceeds to buy arms. They are no longer taxing the Congolese people, he pointed out.
Up to 8000 militias have gone to Rwanda, Mr. Doss maintained, describing the FDLR as a “menace”. It is unclear whether these figures are actually true as experts have estimated the militia force to be around the same number or even less.
The decision to work with the Congo army outraged aid and human rights groups who say the army’s record for murder, rape and mayhem puts them in the same class of war criminals as the rebels.
Campaigners say the anti-FDLR offensive, known as Kimia II, has prompted a sharp spike in violence that has forced many North Kivu residents to flee their homes to already overcrowded camps like Kiwanja.
Although the BBC host detailed these to Mr. Doss, he concurred but argued that the ineffective army will take time to be improved, eventually to the required standards. “It is a huge job” to train such an army, he said.
The Congo mission is costing $1.2 billion a year, a quarter of the entire UN peacekeeping budget – and the UN also agrees that this amount spent on MONUC over the past 10 years is more money than the DRC has received in development aid since independence.
Allan Doss denied allegations that indicted rebel Gen Bosco Ntaganda is taking part in the joint operation. Gen. Ntaganda is “not involved in the operations”, Doss pointed out.
“We cannot work with Mr. Ntaganda”, he added, noting that the Congolese government has given MONUC “assurances” that the general - named the “terminator” will not be included. (End)
Last Updated ( Thursday, 21 May 2009 )
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posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 7:37 AM
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