By Mevlut Ozkan
ISTANBUL (AA) - The Democratic Republic of Congo’s army (FARDC) said on Monday that it had suspended its spokesperson after he made discriminatory comments about the country’s Tutsi minority.
On national television on Saturday, Maj. Gen. Sylvain Ekenga Bomusa Efomi accused the Tutsi community of committing “treachery” by secretly placing men in marriages to father children, claiming the practice was intended to maintain the Tutsi ethnic group’s “superiority.”
The army said in a statement that the suspended spokesperson’s remarks “in no way reflect the official position” of Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi, or the government.
“They are incompatible with the republican values and the constitutional missions devolved to the FARDC,” it added.
The FARDC General Staff reaffirmed its commitment to defend Congo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to protect the security of all Congolese, “without any distinction,” with discipline and professionalism.
The army urged the population to remain united, reject all hate speech, and support the FARDC in carrying out its mission.
The Tutsi community was the primary target of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which around 1 million people were killed by Hutu extremists.
The Congolese Tutsi, making up about 1-2 % of the country’s population, are a minority group in eastern Congo with historical ties to Rwanda, a group that, at times, has faced violence and discrimination.
The M23 rebel group, which has waged a renewed offensive in eastern Congo since 2021, draws heavily on fighters from the Tutsi community and cites grievances over discrimination as part of its cause.
The UN, Kinshasa, and others accuse neighboring Rwanda of supporting the M23, which Kigali denies.