THE UNITED Nations yesterday finally released a delayed report implicating the government of Rwanda in genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), despite a vigorous campaign by Kigali to quash the allegations.
The report by the UN human rights commission calls for a judicial investigation of possible war crimes by various armed forces during a decade of conflict in DRC from 1993.
But the most serious accusations centre on the Rwandan army’s pursuit of Hutu militia and refugees following the genocide of Tutsis in 1994. The report says the wholesale killing of tens of thousands of Hutus without regard to their age or gender could amount to genocide.
Rwanda angrily denounced the report, known as the Mapping Exercise, and warned that it posed a threat to regional stability. “Rwanda categorically states that the document is flawed and dangerous from start to finish,” said the Rwandan foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo. The country is particularly angered because it is headed by the leaders of forces that brought an end to the genocide of the Tutsis in 1994.
But the government of DRC is expected to press for the creation of an international tribunal to investigate war crimes and try those responsible. – (Guardian service)