Senior FDLR officer arrested in DR Congo

A senior member of FDLR militia was Sunday arrested in eastern DR Congo. Col Mucebo Sofuni Habyarimana was arrested in Kiwanja, a village located about 75 kilometres north of Goma, capital of North Kivu.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

A senior member of FDLR militia was Sunday arrested in eastern DR Congo.

Col Mucebo Sofuni Habyarimana was arrested in Kiwanja, a village located about 75 kilometres north of Goma, capital of North Kivu.

According to AFP news agency, Habyarimana was in charge of intelligence at the General Staff of FDLR militia in eastern DR Congo.

He was transferred to Goma for questioning, according to Maj GuillaumeNdjike, a north Kivu army spokesperson, who did not give further details on the arrest.

Commenting on the arrest, yesterday, Jean Sayinzoga , chairperson of Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission, urged concerned institutions to help in repatriating and reintegration of members of FDLR arrested by the Congolese army and those still wandering in the forests.

He said the UN Stabilisation Mission in DR Congo (Monusco) should work closely with Congolese officials to help facilitate in the repatriation process.

"We request MONUSCO to work with DR Congo to help repatriate him (Habyarimana) and other FDLR members who were arrested in the past, as well as others in the jungles because they are destabilising the region,” Sayinzoga said.

"We have intensified efforts through the media to have them repatriated and now we are using social media to ensure those who were repatriated encourage their former colleagues to return.” 

Over 11,000 former members of FDLR have been repatriated to date and have since been reintegrated, according to Sayinzoga.

President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Joseph Kabila, met in Rubavu in August and discussed cooperation in security, among other areas.

Both sides acknowledged the progress made in the effort to eradicate negative forces operating in DR Congo and stressed the importance of establishing a strong mechanism for the timely sharing of intelligence.

FDLR is a DR Congo-based terrorist group comprised of elements largely responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed over a million people. 

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