Rwanda is rejecting the accusations against the country’s armed forces as reported from the recently held Southern African Development Community’s Heads of State Summit which took place in Zimbabwe.
In the communique statement of the Extraordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Harare, it seems the regional leaders were pointing fingers at the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) over the incidents occurring in Democratic Republic of Congo.
An official statement from Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Kigali insists that the RDF defends Rwanda’s borders from threats and protects civilians and does not attack civilians.
The statement adds that SADC has deployed an offensive force, thought the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC), to support the war of the Government of DR Congo against its own people – the M23 and the members of their community – many of who have fled as refugees to Rwanda and throughout the region.
According to the Rwandan Ministry, the Kinshasa Government is also bent on attacking Rwanda and overthrow the Kigali government, as has allegedly been repeatedly and publicly stated by President Felix Tshisekedi.
“It is clear that SAMIDRC together with coalition partners that include the Burundian armed forces, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and European mercenaries are central to the conflict and should not be there because they are adding to the problems that already existed,” reads the Rwanda Ministerial statement.
As far as Kigali is concerned, the argument that SAMIDRC was invited by the Government of the DR Congo is rendered void by the fact they are there to fight the citizens of that country, and effectively taking the war to Rwanda.
“Recent information coming from Goma on what has been discovered, and the documentary evidence of attack preparations, planned together with the foreign forces fighting in eastern DR Congo, including the FDLR, indicate that combat objectives were not limited to defeating the M23, but also attacking Rwanda!”
“Rwanda has consistently advocated for a political solution to the ongoing conflict and welcomes the proposed joint summit of the East African Community and SADC to address the problem,” Kigali maintains.