It’s Burundi Governments Troops fighting in DRC not RDF – Kagame

President Paul Kagame has said there is not a single Rwandan soldier operating in Eastern DR Congo, and instead accused Burundi of having troops there.

Kagame was addressing a virtual press conference that brought together members of the local and international press corps on Monday.

Since late last year Rwanda’s Special Forces units have been reported to be in Eastern Congo fighting groups perceived to be against the establishment in Kigali including FDLR in North Kivu and RNC in South Kivu

“Our intelligence connection actually tells us we have forces from Burundi, government forces operating in the region,” Kagame said.

Burundian troops are said to have followed RED-TABARA rebels after they attacked the country killing a number of locals in the process.

Burundi accuses Rwanda of supporting Red Tabara rebels.

“It’s a cocktail, it’s a mess probably these people are deliberately confusing FDLR and other Rwandan rebel groups with RDF government forces: FDLR and RDF are two different things,” Kagame said.

“Some NGOs and journalists are able to see battalions and all kinds of things. The government of DRC knows that not a single RDF soldier is there. I don’t know what MONUSCO says or anyone else wants to say. So please, take it from me that there is not a single soldier in that part of the world and I say this with authority.”

He added that the so called “experts” were the ones spreading “lies” and “rumours” of RDF presence to hide their own failures yet have been there for more than two decades.

Congolese opposition politicians and civil society groups have claimed Rwandan troops are in Rutshuru territory of North Kivu province, leading operations against Rwandan FDLR rebels. At the same time, as inter communal fighting has raged in South Kivu since late 2018, there have been repeated allegations of presence of Rwandan troops.

On Wednesday September 18 2020, Rwanda special forces operating DRC killed the FDLR military leader Gen Silvestre Mudacumura during an operation at night in the Bwito area of Rutshuru territory, in North Kivu province.