{The United Nations military brigade could launch an attack against members of the rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) operating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo well ahead of the deadline issued by the United Nations Security Council.}<\/p>\n
A deadline of late this year has been set for the complete disarmament of the mainly Hutu group that fled to the DRC after carrying out the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.<\/p>\n
However, a British UN diplomat told reporters late last month that the combat brigade could attack the FDLR prior to the deadline. A similar threat was made by the Obama administration\u2019s special envoy to the Great Lakes region at the recent US-Africa summit in Washington.<\/p>\n
\u201cSwift neutralisation\u201d of the FDLR would clear the way to pacifying the DRC and the Great Lakes region, the Security Council said in a recent statement.<\/p>\n
It noted the progress against other armed groups that has been achieved in recent months. The Rwanda-backed M23 Movement was defeated by the UN combat brigade, and the Allied Democratic Forces, a group aiming to overthrow the government of Uganda, has been militarily degraded.<\/p>\n
These substantial gains were highlighted in a recent report to the council by Martin Kobler, head of Monusco, the acronym for the UN mission in the DRC.<\/p>\n
One year ago, he recalled, eastern Congo was the scene of frequent killings, rapes and displacements of civilians. \u201cM23 was knocking on the gates\u201d of Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, Mr Kobler added.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday,\u201d he told the council, \u201calmost 4,000 combatants from Congolese armed groups have surrendered.\u201d And nearly half a million displaced persons have returned to their homes, he pointed out.<\/p>\n
In the past year, the Monusco chief continued, \u201ca number of armed groups have been sent to the history books.\u201d \u201cOthers will follow,\u201d he predicted. But the FDLR may not be quashed as readily as the UN envisions.<\/p>\n
The group gets limited political support from Tanzania and South Africa, both of which have unresolved quarrels with Rwanda. <\/p>\n
Some UN diplomats say behind-the-scenes lobbying by Tanzania and South Africa, along with the DRC government, succeeded in persuading the Security Council to accede to a six-month disarmament deadline for the FDLR. <\/p>\n
Other UN member states had pushed for a shorter-term ultimatum, which would have had the FDLR either disarmed immediately or being targeted for military strikes.<\/p>\n
UN experts say the DRC\u2019s army has also colluded with the former genocidaires, who continue to carry out human rights violations against Congolese civilians.<\/p>\n
Officials of the Kinshasa-based government deny that it is aiding the FDLR, but outside monitors see such support as an expression of the long-running hostility between the DRC and Rwanda.<\/p>\n
Last week, the FDLR rebels vowed not to surrender and instead set out their demands and appealed to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the Southern African Development Co-operation to intervene on their behalf. <\/p>\n
In letter addressed to President Mugabe, the rebels claimed the current peace process was \u201ccompromised\u201d and that they could not trust the UN force, Monusco, the government of Rwanda, or that of the DRC.<\/p>\n
Rwanda has twice invaded the DRC in the two decades since the routed Hutu force established bases across the border in eastern Congo, saying it was seeking to counter the existential threat posed by the FDLR.<\/p>\n
Rwanda has also accused Monusco of collaborating with the FDLR. UN representatives reject that allegation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no difference between the way that we are treating the M23 and the FDLR,\u201d British UN diplomat Peter Wilson insisted in comments to reporters in late August.<\/p>\n
Mr Wilson was speaking in his capacity as a spokesman for the Security Council presidency.<\/p>\n
{{The East African}}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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