Congolese authorities on Tuesday, May 31, agreed to release two Rwandan soldiers who were kidnapped, along the common border, while on patrol. This was announced by Angolan President João Lourenço, the same day he held talks with DR Congo President, Felix Tshisekedi and requested him to release the soldiers. Lourenco’s office said: “This step is intended to help reduce the tension in the relationship between the two countries.” As reported, Lourenço later held a videoconference conversation with President Paul Kagame. Following the separate interactions with Lourenço, the Rwandan and DR Congo leaders reached “an understanding” to meet face-to-face in Luanda, at a date yet to be announced. Lourenço, who is the Chairperson of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), is spearheading mediation efforts to resolve the current impasse. The Congolese army and the terrorist FDLR militia, according to Rwanda Defence Force, kidnapped two Rwandan soldiers who were patrolling along the common border. The RDF earlier indicated that the duo, Cpl Elysee Nkundabagenzi and Pte Gad Ntwari, were held by the Rwandan genocidal FDLR militia in eastern DR Congo. Kigali immediately requested DR Congo authorities to release the two soldiers. The FDLR are genocidal armed groups based in eastern DR Congo. The FDLR, which “harbours a long-term sinister plan to destabilise Rwanda,” comprises remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. After killing more than one million people 28 years ago, they fled into eastern DR Congo, where, Dr Vincent Biruta, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said they have been tolerated and preserved by Kinshasa. According to Kigali, over the years, Kinshasa sanitised the genocidal militia group to the extent that it is currently co-located, and fighting alongside the Congolese army. Rwanda has always noted that the FDLR and its various splinter groups pose a serious security threat, not only to Rwanda, but to the entire region. Kigali has stressed that it has no intention of being drawn into an intra-Congolese matter, but Kinshasa claims that the M23 rebels are supported by Kigali.
