A leaked report from the United Nations Group of Experts on DR Congo says the country’s armed forces (FARDC) have been cooperating with armed groups, such as the FDLR, in the war against the M23 rebels, in North Kivu. Rwanda has long accused the FARDC of cooperating with the terrorist group FDLR, whose members are suspects of genocide crimes in Rwanda. ALSO READ: Genocide survivors want UN to probe Tutsi massacres in DR Congo “The UN Group of Experts Report on DRC leaked to the media vindicates what Rwanda has consistently said,” Yolande Makolo, the government spokesperson, wrote on Twitter. “The Congolese army (FARDC) continues to directly support several irregular armed groups, and in particular works/fights closely with the Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR.” The UN Group of Experts Report on DRC leaked to media vindicates what Rwanda has consistently said. The Congolese army (FARDC) continues to directly support several irregular armed groups, and in particular works/fights closely with the Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/8SIFHXaxE9 — Yolande Makolo (@YolandeMakolo) December 23, 2022 The M23 recently captured FDLR combatants, who admitted to working with the Congolese army. “We work with FARDC in wartime,” Innocent Uwamungu, one of the FDLR captives, told M23 officers. Another FDLR fighter said the FARDC provided them with ammunition and uniforms. The UN experts report recommends the Congolese government to “take all measures to prevent cooperation between FARDC elements and armed groups, notably in Rutshuru and Nyiragongo territories.” Hate speech and xenophobia against Congolese Tutsi The UN group of experts said they had documented “a worrying proliferation of xenophobia and hate speech inciting discrimination, hostility, and violence” targeting Kinyarwanda-speaking populations, in particular, the Banyamulenge and Tutsi communities, who are accused of supporting the M23. The report says the Banyamulenge and Tutsi populations “reported being told, including by some FARDC members that they were not citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo because of their features, body shape, and language” and they were “told to return to Rwanda.” Sometimes, they are “threatened with being cut with machetes.” The UN experts said the anti-Tutsi or anti-Rwanda rhetoric has led to acts of violence, including killings. They documented incidents of targeted violence and public lynching of Rwandophone individuals. The UN experts report says the rhetoric has spread nationwide at the hands of political and military leaders as well as members of civil society. In particular, the report mentions Aba Van Ang, the North Kivu deputy police commissioner, who has “incited civilians to take machetes ‘against the enemy” and Justin Bitakwira, a former minister, who “called for every Congolese to identify ‘infiltrators’. Earlier in December, the European Union imposed sanctions on Bitakwira, accusing him of sustaining the insecurity in eastern DR Congo. Later in November, the UN special advisor on genocide prevention, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, said the violence in eastern DR Congo was “a warning sign” in a region with a genocide history. She said the violence was a result of the FDLR presence in eastern DR Congo, where the group remains active. Nderitu’s office said they found “indicators and triggers” of atrocity crimes, especially targeting the Banyamulenge.
