FDLR spokesperson arrested

The Spokesperson of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) was arrested by the FARDC, Topafricanews has learnt.

Rwanda’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe confirmed the arrest in a Tweet saying:

“This man is called Le Forge Fils Bazeye. It’s not a French aristocrat but the spokesperson of the #FDLR, a génocidaire and subversive movement operating in Eastern #DRC. He was arrested today by the Congolese army #FARDC. I hope that he will be repatriated to #Rwanda.”

Last week Le Forge Fils Bazeye was heard on Social media confirming that the recent attack in Rubavu was conducted by the FDLR rebel forces.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame told media that “two rwandan soldiers were killed by rebels who had crossed the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo, “

He said Rwanda will do whatever possible to arrest the killers.

The Rwandan army blamed the December 9 assault in the country’s restive east on Hutu rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

“A group arrived from DRC and attacked our positions, I think they killed two or three of our soldiers,” Kagame said at a news conference.

“A number of them (the rebels) were killed and their bodies taken away by their friends in the DRC. We are seeking clarification and cooperation from the Congolese authorities,” he added.

The FDLR, set up in 2000, includes several leaders who took part in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi , in which over a million Rwandans mainly Tutsi Ethnic were killed by the Hutu majority government.

Eastern DRC has been a theatre of ethnic violence for 20 years, fuelled in part by the desire to control valuable mineral resources and farmland.

The FDLR is regularly accused of atrocities on Congolese soil.

Tensions are rising in the vast, unstable country ahead of the December 23 election when Congolese voters will choose a successor to President Joseph Kabila who has remained in power as a caretaker leader even though his second and final elected term ended nearly two years ago.