20 killed in Ugandan rebel raids in DR Congo's eastern territory

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – At least 20 people, including eight women and children, were killed in a fresh attack blamed on Uganda's Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), a human rights group said on Monday.

The armed attackers killed residents and torched about 30 houses in Otmabert village, in the southern part of Irumu territory, on Sunday, the Convention for the Respect of Human Rights (CRDH) said.

Last year, Uganda sent 1,700 troops to neighboring DR Congo to help fight the ADF.

The latest attack came days after the two countries extended their joint operation.

The ADF has been blamed for killing more than 1,300 people between January 2021 and January 2022, according to the United Nations.

- M23 rebels attack DR Congo positions

Fighting between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and M23 rebels in North Kivu province resumed early on Monday after a week of calm, the military said.

"The rebels launched attacks on military positions in Muhati in the Rutshuru territory in North Kivu at around 5 a.m. local time," army spokesman Lt. Col. Njike Kaiko told reporters.

The army responded to the attacks and continued to hold positions in Muhati, but fighting continued in Runyonyi and Chanzu regions to dislodge the rebels from there, he added.

Last month, DR Congo accused neighboring Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels in renewed fighting in North Kivu province. Rwanda, however, disputed the charge.

Rwanda's Ambassador to the UN, Claver Gatete, last week told the UN Security Council that Rwanda has no interest in destabilizing DR Congo, instead accusing Congolese forces of allying with its rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which is made up of elements blamed for the 1994 genocide against Tutsi ethnic group.

After more than a week of calm, the latest fighting resumed just hours after DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi declared that he has "no doubt" about Rwanda's support for the conflict in his country, speaking publicly for the first time since fresh fighting broke out.

Tshisekedi, speaking at a joint press conference with President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo on Sunday in Oyo town, some 400 km north of Brazzaville, said the M23 was "totally defeated" in 2013 and their military weaponry confiscated.

"If today they have resumed fighting, it means that they have regrouped from somewhere, were armed from somewhere. Today it is clear, there is no doubt, Rwanda supported the M23 to come and attack the DRC," he said.

President Nguesso said he is "confident" about resolving the conflict through dialogue.

On May 23, Rwanda accused the Congolese military of firing rockets into its northern border territory, injuring civilians and capturing two of its soldiers, a corporal and a private.

Kigali said the soldiers were kidnapped while on border patrol, but the Congolese military claimed they were arrested during a foiled attack on its military detachment in the east.

DR Congo has stopped Rwanda's national carrier RwandAir flights on its territory and summoned the country's ambassador to Kinshasa to express "disapproval."

Last week, Tshisekedi reportedly agreed to release the two Rwandan soldiers as part of efforts to ease tensions between the two countries.
Both Rwanda and DR Congo have said they are open to dialogue.

The renewed violence has so far displaced about 75,000 people, according to the UN.