QUESTION: Will FDLR rebels ever leave Congo and return to Rwanda?
Some FDLR leaders feel their lives would be in danger if they returned to Rwanda
Twenty
years after the Rwandan genocide, some of those responsible are still
wreaking havoc in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, where they
are terrorising the local population and profiting from the area's rich
natural resources. The BBC's Grainne Harrington reports on the UN's
attempts to persuade them to lay down their weapons and return home.
"Vincent Miranzi" is on the legal affairs commission of the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) but he won't tell
the BBC his real name.
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Abdulli Mohammed UN mission in DR CongoPeople who want to leave need to do it secretly, because if they want to surrender, they'll be betrayed, and they risk being executed”
He arrived in what is now
Democratic Republic of Congo after the Rwandan genocide, though he
denies taking part in the slaughter of some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and
moderate Hutus, which has led to two decades of unrest across the
region.
The FDLR has been accused of recruiting child soldiers, rape and systematic looting.
"It's true that not everybody in our ranks is an angel," he says calmly.
"Some can engage in repressive behaviour. That exists in
other countries too, in all societies. But we have ways of dealing with
that. Each time a case is identified, then they have to submit to strict
regulations."
Mr Miranzi has come to meet me in the village of Luofu, a
small village nestled in the lush green hills of North Kivu, DR Congo's
eastern province, bordering Rwanda, which has borne the brunt of years
of conflict.
Luofu is now just outside FDLR territory, but for most of the past decade, it was dominated by the Rwandan rebels.
Villages across eastern DR Congo have been attacked by FDLR fighters
The FDLR have been accused of committing atrocities against Congolese civilians
Rwanda has twice invaded DR Congo, saying it is trying to hunt down militias who took part in the genocide
They extorted money from locals, pillaged farmers' harvests and
set up road blocks, demanding money or goods from anyone travelling
through.
BBC NEWS
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