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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

"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.
The first victim of the operation however was Laurent Nkunda, the renegade Congolese general who had been fighting Congolese government forces in the region with Rwanda's backing. Nkunda, leader of the National Congress for the Defense of the People, was captured last month and is currently being held in Rwanda. US praises operation against Hutu rebels in DR Congo Agence France Presse, 2/17/09 Washington's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday praised the joint Congolese-Rwandan offensive against Rwandan Hutu rebels in the east of the country. "The joint DRC-Rwanda military operations in the east of Congo are showing real successes," William John Garvelink told reporters. The Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) had lost ground and would not pose the same threat that they had in the past, he added. Neighbors DR Congo and Rwanda have put past differences behind them to launch the military operation against the FDLR, some of whose members have been implicated in the 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda. The FDLR, estimated at around 6,500 men, crossed over into the east of DR Congo after the Tutsi forces chased them out of Rwanda in 1994. Garvelink also praised another joint operation against the Ugandan rebel force the Lord's Resistance Army -- this time by Congolese, Ugandan and south Sudanese forces -- in northeast Congo, which borders Uganda and Sudan. The three countries launched that operation on December 14, but they have so far failed to capture the movement's leader, Joseph Kony. Access the DR Congo Negotiation Simulation prepared by PILPG Return to Table of Contents
Page 1 and 2: PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WATCH Thursday,
Page 3 and 4: Kosovo marks 1 year of independence
Page 5 and 6: Whitman said he could not discuss p
Page 7 and 8: "Now that we have realized this is
Page 9 and 10: "However, the aforesaid statements
Page 11 and 12: The court has linked the former Bos
Page 13 and 14: The military regime has promised to
Page 15 and 16: Former US President George W. Bush'
Page 17 and 18: "How can we go on without the main
Page 19 and 20: "I don't want to be on the side of
Page 21 and 22: EU enlargement commissioner Olli Re
Page 23: "Have I said that Bosco Ntaganda ha
Page 27 and 28: The five-day war and Russia's subse
Page 29 and 30: Tengku Syamsuddin, a spokesman for
Page 31 and 32: India and Pakistan have fought thre
Page 33 and 34: New Delhi has noted with strong app
Page 35 and 36: Serbs consider Kosovo to be the hea
Page 37 and 38: "The key to our success is in unity
Page 39 and 40: Macedonia EU mulls economic support
Page 41 and 42: "As for the content of the document
Page 43 and 44: The UN Security Council has called
Page 45 and 46: Moro Islamic Liberation Front which
Page 47 and 48: Somalia Overcrowding at Kenya refug
Page 49 and 50: "We are happy with that," he said,
Page 51 and 52: "With a growing number of children
Page 53 and 54: Dr. Thurairaja Varatharaja, the top
Page 55 and 56: Without a borehole, water was colle
Page 57 and 58: The New York Times reported on Wedn
Page 59 and 60: The talks mediated by Doha are the
Page 61 and 62: Aid workers and human rights activi
Page 63 and 64: "They have no way out of these swam

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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?