The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo has accused Rwanda of dressing up prisoners in military uniforms to pass them off as newly-captured rebels linked to the Rwandan genocide. This accusation follows a claim by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo that they had captured fighters from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group founded by ethnic Hutus involved in the 1994 genocide against Rwanda’s Tutsis.
The DR Congo military stated that a video allegedly showing the handover of 20 FDLR rebels at a border crossing was "faked." This incident occurred as M23 fighters advanced through eastern DR Congo, seizing cities like Bukavu and Goma. The fighting has displaced around 500,000 people, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.
In response, the Congolese military accused Rwanda of orchestrating a "faked incident" to discredit their army. They claimed that Rwanda had taken old FDLR prisoners and dressed them in new military uniforms to falsely portray them as newly captured in Goma. The military asserted that this was part of Rwanda’s strategy to justify its invasion of parts of DR Congo’s territory.
Rwanda has justified its support for the M23 by citing the presence of FDLR forces in eastern Congo. While Rwanda previously denied backing the M23, it argued that due to the FDLR’s presence in the region, it had the right to take military action there. UN experts estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan troops are in eastern Congo, with reports indicating that the Congolese military had used various armed groups, including the FDLR, as proxies in the conflict against the M23.
The genocide in Rwanda, which occurred over 100 days in 1994, involved an ethnic Hutu militia responsible for killing up to 800,000 people, predominantly Tutsis. Some of these militia members fled to what is now DR Congo, with some forming the FDLR. Rwandan President Kagame views this "genocidal militia" as an existential threat.
Recent events in eastern DR Congo have seen gunfire and explosions at a rally in Bukavu, organized by rebel leaders. Videos depicted chaotic scenes with bodies on the streets after the crowd dispersed. The M23 rebels took control of Bukavu last month following their rapid advance in the region. The rally, attended by Corneille Nangaa, head of a rebel alliance including the M23, was marred by violence. President Felix Tshisekedi blamed the attack on a "foreign army" operating in the east, while the rebels accused the Congolese government of orchestrating the assault.
Calls for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of rebels from the areas they control have been made by the African Union and the UN in response to the escalating conflict in eastern DR Congo.