Exiled king condemns Kisangani fighting

The exiled king of Rwanda, Kigeli V, has criticised President Paul Kagame over the fighting in Kisangani and called on him to withdraw Rwandan troops in accordance with Lusaka peace accord. In a statement, received by IRIN on Friday, Kigeli said Rwandan forces were “bringing shame” on the country. He said the DRC war was also “needlessly killing and maiming Rwandans, dividing and destroying families, and stopping national reconciliation”. “Any justification which the RPA originally had in pursuing the Interahamwe militia into the DRC has now passed,” the statement said. “We now need to be able to reassure our neighbours...that Rwanda is now moving toward a process of peaceful reconciliation and development.” “We must emphasise that both the DRC peoples and the Ugandan peoples have an historic relationship with the Rwandese peoples which we must sustain and respect, which means that it is now time for Major General Kagame to invest himself in peaceful solutions rather than in fighting.” The exiled king expressed great sorrow over the deaths of Congolese in Kisangani, saying “your suffering and losses are now added to the burden of suffering which we Rwandans feel”.