The Congolese army has increased pressure on the FDLR militia in an ongoing battle in the countrys North Kivu Province. The FARDC, as the Congolese military is called, has for over a year been battling various militias in the vast country’s east and according to sources, much focus and pressure is now on this particular groups hideouts in North Kivu. The FDLR is an offshoot of former Rwandan government forces and militia groups that crossed into DR Congo after killing more than a million people during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The militia’s armed wing, the Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi (FOCA), sources said, is now being pursued heavily, and is in disarray. Lately, sources indicate that since Monday, April 13, this week, the army there dislodged FOCA from its strongholds in a place called Kazaroho in the territory of Rutchuru. Speaking to The New Times, Maj Guillaume Ndjike-Kaiko, the Congolese army spokesperson in North Kivu, declined to go into specifics about their North Kivu operation but emphasized that we are working. He said: It is still early to talk about this. But there is a (military) confrontation now and we are working hard. And we shall brief you and others when we are done. You very well know that for some good time now, we have started determined operations against all negative forces in the east. Nonetheless, in North Kivu, it is reported that the militia group has lost some fighters in the past two days. FDLR leader, Gen Gaston Iyamuremye, alias Victor Byiringiro, is on the run. In addition, hundreds of FDLR civilian dependents have reportedly taken refuge in areas of Kagando and Kirumba. By press time Wednesday, April 15, it was not yet clear which militia officers had been captured or killed. Last September, the former FOCA commander, ‘Gen’ Sylvestre Mudacumura was shot and killed by Congolese forces, dealing a huge blow to the group. After Mudacumura’s demise, the militia is now led by ‘Maj Gen’ Pacifique Ntawunguka alias Omega, and deputised by Brig Gen Cyprien Uzabakiriho. Last year, the new DR Congo government launched an offensive against terror groups in the countrys east. Kinshasa aims to rout out all foreign armed militias based in the neighbouring country. For the better part of last year, the Congolese army dealt a significant blow to the CNRD/FLN anti-Rwanda group based in South Kivu Province. Hundreds were killed and others forced to return home, along with hundreds of their dependents. The latter are now under a rehabilitation programme before they can be properly reintegrated into Rwandan society. Military operations to eradicate negative forces in South Kivu continue. The South Kivu based CNRD is one of the groups that split from FDLR, in 2016. The group now in disarray was previously led by former FDLR vice president ‘Lt Gen’ Laurent Ndagijimana, alias, Wilson Irategeka or Rumbago, who was killed last year. The remnants of FLN, the group’s military wing, is led by Lt Gen Habimana Hamada.
