The Rwanda Defence Force confirmed that two Rwandan soldiers abducted last month near the common border while on patrol have been freed by Congolese authorities.
Following the kidnapping of two RDF soldiers on patrol along the Rwanda-DR Congo border on May 28, “and the subsequent diplomatic interventions” between the Heads of State of Angola, DR Congo, and Rwanda, the RDF is pleased to announce that the two soldiers are now safely back in Rwanda, according to a statement issued by the RDF on Saturday, June 11.
“The RDF is appreciative for the efforts put in to secure the release of the two troops,” the statement concludes.
On May 31, Congolese officials agreed to release two Rwandan troops. Angolan President Joo Lourenço made the announcement the same day after meeting with DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and requesting the release of Rwandan troops.
“This measure is meant to assist ease tension in the relationship between the two nations,” Lourenco’s office said at the time.
Lourenço, the Chairperson of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), led mediation attempts to end the present standoff.
According to Kigali, the Congolese army and the terrorist FDLR militia seized two Rwandan troops who were patrolling near the shared border.
The RDF had previously said that the two men, Cpl Elysee Nkundabagenzi and Pte Gad Ntwari, were being detained by the Rwandan murderous FDLR militia in eastern DR Congo. Kigali quickly demanded that the two troops be released by the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The FDLR is a genocidal armed organization created by survivors of Rwanda’s 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It has been stationed in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo since it fled there in 1994. After murdering over a million people 28 years ago, they retreated to eastern DR Congo, where Kigali claims Kinshasa tolerated and protected them.
According to Kigali, Kinshasa has sanitized the homicidal militia organization over the years to the point that it is now co-located and fighting with the Congolese army. Rwanda has consistently stated that the FDLR and its many offshoot organizations constitute a severe security danger to the whole region, not just Rwanda.
Kigali has said that it has no intention of becoming involved in an intra-Congolese conflict, but Kinshasa maintains that Kigali supports the M23 rebels.
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