Vol. 8 Issue 7 - Public International Law & Policy Group

"He found himself surrounded and eventually surrendered to Congolese troops" with several
other fighters, the Rwandan army spokesman said.
Ngarambe and his men are currently being held in a transit camp for demobilized combatants
in Rwanda's Rubavu district, near the border with DR Congo.
According to Radio Rwanda, other senior FDLR commanders -- including Vital
Uwumuremyi and Pontien Nkeramihigo -- are among those who were captured with
Ngarambe.
A statement read by a man presented by the radio as Ngarambe urged remaining FDLR
fighters to "immediately lay down arms and peacefully return to Rwanda."
"We have lost time that will never come back. Our children have not been to school in a long
time and we have been powerless to help our families," the radio appeal said.
"I launch a special appeal to (Ignace) Murwanashyaka and (Sylvestre) Mudacumura to
authorize FDLR combatants to return to Rwanda. The Congolese regime and people are now
against the FDLR."
Murwanashyaka is the Germany-based chairman of the FDLR and Mudacumura is the rebel
group's commander in chief.
There was no immediate confirmation of the group surrender by the FDLR.
The FDLR have been operating out of the eastern DRC since the aftermath of Rwanda's 1994
genocide against the Tutsi minority. Some of its members are accused of being among the
main perpetrators of the massacres.
Kigali had long accused Kinshasa of sheltering the FDLR and even using them as proxies in
the eastern Kivu region but the two governments launched a surprise joint offensive last
month.
In a statement issued earlier this week, the FDLR's Paris-based secretary general Callixte
Mbarushimana, accused the Congolese army of abducting Ngarambe and his men.
The statement condemned "the kidnapping of an FDLR delegation led by Lt Col Edmond
Ngarambe... in a neutral zone in the Masisi to hold talks with a Congolese delegation."
"The kidnapping of a delegation of the FDLR in a neutral zone and on peaceful mission is
not only a serious violation of international humanitarian law but also a clear sign that the
authorities of the armed Rwandan-Congolese coalition... are neither interested in peace nor
sensitive to the plight of civilian populations," the statement added.
The joint military offensive on Congolese soil by Rwanda and the DRC was officially aimed
at rooting out the FDLR, which until last month was believed to count some 6,000 fighters.