The Democratic Republic of Congo military forces accused Rwanda of dressing up prisoners in military uniforms in order to transfer them to the newly captured rebels linked to the Rwandan genocide.
It was in the eastern Congo’s Rwanda-backed M23 rebels said they captured fighter jets from democratic forces to liberate Rwanda (FDLR) – a Rwandan-established militia who participated in the 1994 genocide of Rwanda against Rwanda.
But Congolese troops said a videotape allegedly showed the handover of 20 FDLR rebels at the border crossing point was “forged”.
The M23 fighter jets have been advancing in the Congo Doctor since January, capturing Bukavu and Goma, the largest cities in the region.
The fight forced about 500,000 people to leave their homes, worsening the already serious humanitarian crisis, the United Nations said.
The Congolese military said in its statement that the Rwandan video was an incident of “fake taste disguised as fake, with the sole goal of discrediting our army”.
It said Rwanda had taken away old FDLR prisoners and dressed in new military uniforms, claiming they were newly captured in Goma.
It added: “This is part of the Rwanda strategy to demonstrate a part of the region that has just invaded the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
Rwanda uses the presence of FDLR troops in eastern Congo to prove its support for M23.
The country previously denied its support for M23, but it also stressed that it has the right to take military action in eastern Congo due to the existence of FDLR in eastern Congo.
UN experts previously estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan troops were present in eastern Congo.
UN experts also reported last year that the Congolese military has been using several armed groups, including the FDLR, as agents in the fight against the M23.
The genocide in Rwanda took place over 100 days in 1994.
Hutu militias, involving up to 800,000 people (the vast majority from the Tutsi community), fled the present-day Congo Doctor, and some fled to the FDLR.
Kagame, who was in charge of the rebel Tutsi unit, which ended the killing more than thirty years ago, saw this “genocidal militia” as an existential threat.
On Thursday, gunfire and explosions swept the rally held by rebel leaders in Bukav, the second largest city in the east. The video shows a chaotic scene, and after everyone runs away, there are corpses on the street.
M23 rebels seized Bukaf from government forces last month after rapid development in the region.
The rally was earlier delivered by Corneille Nangaa, head of the coalition of rebel groups including M23.
The rebels accused the government of Congo’s Dr. Felix Tshisekedi’s government of planning the attack. However, Tshisekedi blamed it on the “foreign military” he said operated in the East.
The African Union and the United Nations have called for a ceasefire and demanded that the rebels withdraw from the areas they now control.
