At least four people were burned to death and an entire village reduced to ashes following a violent incursion by the FDLR militia in Walikale territory in eastern DR Congo, according to local reports. ALSO READ; Rwanda, DR Congo officials renew commitment to dismantle FDLR The Monday attack targeted Tuonane village, which the reports describe as having been “completely reduced to ashes” during the assault by fighters of the FDLR, a militia formed by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The Kinshasa-backed group has been active on Congolese soil for more than a quarter century. This group has also attacked Rwanda on multiple occasions, with the Rwandan leaders calling on their Congolese counterpart to end support and the ties with militia. According to the reports, the assailants arrived in the village in the early hours of Monday. “Upon arriving in the village, FDLR fighters led by self-proclaimed General Mudayongwa set fire to houses while families slept. Four people were burned to death,” reported the news website Actualite.cd. ALSO READ: Notorious FDLR fighter captured in DR Congo Survivors of the attack reportedly fled to neighbouring villages, seeking refuge in Kifuruka, Kaundju, Katambira and Busurungi. Local authorities in the Waloa Loanda group described the casualty figures as provisional, noting that assessments were still ongoing. However, they indicated that the violence may have been triggered by a land dispute between the local population and the FDLR commander known as Mudayongwa. ALSO READ: Impunity for FDLR crimes, genocide ideology drive DR Congo crisis, says Rwandan envoy Mudayongwa reportedly claims ownership of land in this part of the Waloa Loanda group, alleging that he purchased it from locals. Local sources further said that Mudayongwa had asked the population to leave the area because he wanted to start his agricultural and livestock activities on the hills. ALSO READ: Inside FDLR’s frontline base 3km from Rwanda border Meanwhile, the security situation in Tuonane and surrounding areas remains volatile. Reports indicate that clashes broke out between the FDLR and Wazalendo fighters affiliated with the Mai-Mai Kifuafua armed group, with residents reporting the sound of both heavy and light weapons. ALSO READ: FDLR threatens any Rwandan intending to go back home, say returnees from DR Congo Reacting to the news, Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, said the incident is another reminder of the presence of the FDLR, which sometimes denied or described by Congolese leaders as non-existent. In a post on X, Nduhungirehe said Monday's attack was “An important reminder to those who, even in Europe and North America, still claim that the FDLR genocidaires (supported by Kinshasa) ‘do not exist’, that they are ‘old and tired’, and that they are only a ‘pretext for Rwanda’.” Rwandan and Congolese government have signed various agreements to dismantle the FLDR, which now fights alongside the Congolese army in the war with AFC/M23 rebels. But not much has been done to end the group. The latest arrangement is the Washington Accords signed on December 4, in which the two countries committed to a neutralisation plan for the FDLR.
