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Rwanda has withdrawn 310 of its troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first Rwandans to leave under a 1999 peace accord, diplomatic sources told IRIN on Friday. One diplomat in Kinshasa told IRIN the move was a surprise.
The soldiers returned to Kigali, Rwanda, from Lusambo and Nene Dibele in DRC's Kasai province because of an invasion threat on southwest Rwanda by Interahamwe rebels, PANA reported quoting military sources on Thursday. "There is no reason for us to keep these forces in those positions they are occupying in Kasai while there is increasing threat on our security," Col. Jean Bosco Kazura, Rwandan army spokesman, told the agency.
It reported that the positions vacated by Rwandan forces will be taken over by their allies, the Rally for the Congolese Democracy (RCD), which, the agency added, "controls more than 45 percent of the Central African country". In early August, Rwandan Defence Minister Col Emmanuel Habyarimana told reporters that over 40,000 Rwandan Hutu rebels and militiamen were advancing towards southwest Rwanda, PANA reported.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
