DR Congo rebels recruited from Rwanda army
Exclusive: Rwanda is allowing its territory to be used as a recruiting ground for the rebel movement behind the DR Congo's latest bloodshed, according to first-hand accounts.

By David Blair in Goma
Last Updated: 4:43PM GMT 20 Nov 2008



let the justice be done
Evidence gathered by The Daily Telegraph contradicts Rwanda's official denial of any role in the war in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 250,000 people have endured months of suffering since they were forced to flee their homes.

Instead, fighters recruited from inside Rwanda's army have joined General Laurent Nkunda's rebels in Congo.

Rwanda is one of Britain's closest African allies, receiving £46 million of aid last year. President Paul Kagame appears to be treading a thin line between officially helping the rebels and turning a blind eye to their use of Rwandan territory.

A 27-year-old fighter in Gen Nkunda's movement said that he served as a platoon commander in Rwanda's army until last month.

"There are many former Rwandan soldiers with the CNDP [Gen Nkunda's rebels]. When I was still in the Rwandan army, I was in touch with them. They wanted me to join the CNDP," he said. "I decided to join them because fighting for the CNDP is like fighting for Rwanda."

Gen Nkunda's stated goal is to eliminate the militias who murdered at least 800,000 people in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. These armed groups have found refuge in eastern Congo and Rwanda has a vital interest in neutralising them. Hence Rwanda and Gen Nkunda share common aims.

The rebel, who asked to remain anonymous, said that Gen Nkunda needed more fighters when he launched his offensive in August. Rwandan officers who were in touch with the rebels quietly conveyed the need for recruits.

Along with seven other Rwandan soldiers, the fighter crossed the Rwinyoni border post shortly before Gen Nkunda advanced towards Goma, eastern Congo's main city, last month.

"We met our friends from the CNDP on the Congo side. They gave us new uniforms," said the rebel.

The fighter described himself as a "deserter" from Rwanda's army and an "ex-Rwandan soldier", saying that he destroyed his military identity card. But he added that Rwandan officers are aware of the flow of former soldiers over the frontier.

Some are deserters, others have been officially demobilised. But Rwanda's highly centralised government has full control over its borders. The authorities could almost certainly stop this movement of recruits for Congo's rebels.

Instead, it has become a long-standing tradition. Another 28-year-old rebel said that he was demobilised from Rwanda's army in 2006. He crossed the border into Congo and joined Gen Nkunda six months later.

"I am a soldier, not a politician," he said. "I am fighting to protect our community here in Congo."

Gen Nkunda has proclaimed himself the protector of the Tutsis in eastern Congo. The presence of genocidal militias who tried to eradicate Rwanda's Tutsis 14 years ago amounts to a constant threat.

These gunmen, who once called themselves the Interahamwe, or "those who kill together", are the prime cause of eastern Congo's chaos. For as long as they remain at large, Gen Nkunda's rebellion will continue - with tacit Rwandan support.

But great wealth is also at stake. Wealthy Rwandans, including members of the government, have farming and mining interests in eastern Congo.

They need Gen Nkunda to protect these assets. Meanwhile, the rebels must finance their campaign. Gen Nkunda's movement is believed to hold bank accounts in Rwanda's capital, Kigali.

Despite this, Gen Nkunda is not a puppet of Rwanda's government. He possesses an independent agenda and copes with deep splits inside his movement. But the neighbouring country serves as a crucial recruiting and financial centre.

the Rwandan Justice

ROSA KABUYE TO FACE THE LAW OVER THE RWANDAN DRAMA



PARIS (Reuters) - A Rwandan official extradited from Germany over the 1994 killing of a Rwandan president which was blamed for triggering genocide arrived in Paris on Wednesday and was put under investigation by magistrates, her lawyers said.
German authorities had held Rose Kabuye, a senior aide to current Rwandan President Paul Kagame, since arresting her on November 9 at Frankfurt airport under international warrants issued by France for her and eight other Kagame associates.
A member of Kabuye's legal team, Belgian lawyer Bernard Maingain, said she was escorted on a flight from Frankfurt by French police officers and taken to be interviewed by judges investigating the 1994 plane crash that killed former President Juvenal Habyarimana.
That event is widely seen as triggering the start of the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.
After interviewing Kabuye, a judge ordered that she be released under court-ordered supervision, her lawyers said. She will have to remain in France to answer questions but will be allowed to travel abroad with a judge's permission.
"It's a reasonable decision which will allow the investigation to go ahead and the defense to formulate its requests so that the truth can emerge," said Kabuye's French lawyer, Lef Forster.
During the interview with anti-terrorist judge Marc Trevidic, Kabuye denied allegations of complicity in murder related to a terrorist enterprise, her lawyers said.
Earlier, thousands of demonstrators in the Rwandan capital Kigali chanted "Our Rose, Our Rose" and waved Rwandan flags as they demonstrated their support. Some waved placards reading: "Rose is innocent and she is ready to prove it."
"GET UP, STAND UP"
The peaceful protest stopped outside the German embassy, where a stage was set up and a band sang "Get up, Stand up" by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Some demonstrators wore patches showing a rose, and others T-shirts decorated with Kabuye's face.
"Why did they arrest Rose, and not the genocidaires?" asked genocide survivor Ididas Mpole. Kigali accuses Berlin of failing to detain hard-line Hutu leaders Rwanda blames for the genocide.
"It just doesn't make sense," Mpole told Reuters.
Berlin says it was obliged to act on the French warrants, but the Rwandan government says Kabuye was on official business in Germany and had diplomatic immunity. Kigali asked the German ambassador to leave and recalled its own envoy from Berlin.
Kabuye's arrest this month marked a new low point in relations between France and Rwanda, which has broken off diplomatic ties over the warrants issued by judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere in 2006

PARIS (Reuters) - A Rwandan official extradited from Germany over the 1994 killing of a Rwandan president which was blamed for triggering genocide arrived in Paris on Wednesday and was put under investigation by magistrates, her lawyers said.
German authorities had held Rose Kabuye, a senior aide to current Rwandan President Paul Kagame, since arresting her on November 9 at Frankfurt airport under international warrants issued by France for her and eight other Kagame associates.
A member of Kabuye's legal team, Belgian lawyer Bernard Maingain, said she was escorted on a flight from Frankfurt by French police officers and taken to be interviewed by judges investigating the 1994 plane crash that killed former President Juvenal Habyarimana.
That event is widely seen as triggering the start of the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.
After interviewing Kabuye, a judge ordered that she be released under court-ordered supervision, her lawyers said. She will have to remain in France to answer questions but will be allowed to travel abroad with a judge's permission.
"It's a reasonable decision which will allow the investigation to go ahead and the defense to formulate its requests so that the truth can emerge," said Kabuye's French lawyer, Lef Forster.
During the interview with anti-terrorist judge Marc Trevidic, Kabuye denied allegations of complicity in murder related to a terrorist enterprise, her lawyers said.
Earlier, thousands of demonstrators in the Rwandan capital Kigali chanted "Our Rose, Our Rose" and waved Rwandan flags as they demonstrated their support. Some waved placards reading: "Rose is innocent and she is ready to prove it."
"GET UP, STAND UP"
The peaceful protest stopped outside the German embassy, where a stage was set up and a band sang "Get up, Stand up" by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Some demonstrators wore patches showing a rose, and others T-shirts decorated with Kabuye's face.
"Why did they arrest Rose, and not the genocidaires?" asked genocide survivor Ididas Mpole. Kigali accuses Berlin of failing to detain hard-line Hutu leaders Rwanda blames for the genocide.
"It just doesn't make sense," Mpole told Reuters.
Berlin says it was obliged to act on the French warrants, but the Rwandan government says Kabuye was on official business in Germany and had diplomatic immunity. Kigali asked the German ambassador to leave and recalled its own envoy from Berlin.
Kabuye's arrest this month marked a new low point in relations between France and Rwanda, which has broken off diplomatic ties over the warrants issued by judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere in 2006