Wellington boots at Kabuhanga border crossing, Rubavu District,
Rwanda. Saturday, September 1, 2012)
***
Just as precipitately announced by the Rwandan Defense Ministry on
Friday, Rwandan special operators crossed into Rwanda on Saturday.
By that time, the number of those operators had swelled from the
announced 280-strong company to 357--the lower threshold of number of
troops making up a battalion.
The Kigali daily New Times reporter James Karuhanga who covered the
festive media event reports that the well-trained special operators,
who were based in Rutshuru, at 70 km north of Goma, "[showed] no signs
of fatigue despite marching for over 100 kilometres since Friday
evening."
Rwandan Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), Gen. Charles Kayonga, thanked
the returning operators and told them they'd accomplished "their
mission to the satisfaction of the Commander-in-Chief, the RDF [Rwanda
Defence Force] leadership and the nation."
Adding:
"The theatre of operations has changed and it was not possible for you
to remain there given the circumstances.
"We are in touch with the Congolese authorities so that when things
normalize, you could possibly go back to assist the FARDC and
stabilize the region."
Eerily, James Karuhanga also reports that among the foreign
dignitaries present were two FARDC senior officers:
1) Gen. Lucien Bauma Amamba, commander of North Kivu 8th FARDC
Military Region; and
2) Col. Jean-Claude Yav, the commander of FARDC military intelligence,
called "Détection Militaire des Activités Anti-Patrie (DEMIAP)
[Military Detection of Anti-Homeland Activities].
(SOURCE: www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15104&a=57835)
If anything, this shows that the RDC has turned into a contortionist
as it bends into impossible positions in order to mend its diplomatic
relations with and to allay security concerns of Rwanda.
To no avail, unfortunately.
In keeping with its legendary obfuscation and opacity, the Congolese
government has still to peep a word on the Congolese sidekicks of the
returned Rwandan special operators--if there were any!
Those Congolese special forces troops were supposedly in Rutshuru, an
area since overrun by M23 and where these bandits have established a
rogue government.
Have they marched to Goma?
As I urged in the previous post, the DRC government has to come clean
and explain to Congolese citizens what's going on in the Kivus.
Barring that, the suspicion, bitterness, and anger of denizens would only grow.
Let's hope the DRC government will convingly explain what people
construe as its anti-patriotic compromising stances in the Kivus--not
the non-explanations Communication Minister Lambert Mende is peddling
these days .
***
PHOTO CREDITS: The New Times/John Mbanda
Via: newtimes.co.rw
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