FDLR is a terrorist group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Rwanda and Uganda continue to scale up efforts geared towards restoring bilateral ties that experienced setbacks since 2017 over reciprocal accusations.
At the time, Rwanda accused Uganda of illegal detention of Rwandans and working with groups intending to threaten its security including FDLR.
Meanwhile, Uganda also accused Rwanda of sending spies to the country.
On Friday last week, Rwanda and Uganda signed memoranda of understanding to facilitate cooperation in different fields.
They were signed between Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta and his counterpart of Uganda, Uganda Gen Jeje Odongo in Kigali during a meeting of the 11th Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) between Rwanda and Uganda.
The agreements are in the fields of justice and constitutionalism, mutual legal assistance, diplomatic and political consultations, and migration matters, according to the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Minister Biruta expressed optimism that the consultations will further strengthen bilateral ties.
Minister Odongo said that Rwanda and Uganda are members of the East African Community (EAC) where they should work together, along with other member states, in finding a solution to security problems of eastern DRC as they are both affected in the same way.
As he said, this should be done in the spirit of African solutions for African problems.
“Security problems that occur in eastern DRC affect both of us in a similar way. ADF which affects Uganda is resident in the eastern DRC. FDLR which affects Rwanda is in eastern DRC,” he noted.
“Two hands are better than one. That is why I said, we should continue to work together so that, with the region, both in East Africa as the region, under the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region, we are able to put our contribution in finding a solution,” added Gen Odongo.
He highlighted that consultations that have been agreed will help to reach common ground in finding a solution to problems in eastern DRC.
Apart from ADF which threatens Uganda’s security, Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) in collaboration with Rwanda National Police (RNP) confirmed on 1st October 2021 that law enforcement agencies had arrested 13 people between August and September in the same year suspected of working with ADF while plotting a plan to conduct terrorist attacks in different parts of Kigali.
At the time, RNP revealed that the suspects were arrested with different improvised explosive devices (IEDs) materials that include; wires, nails, phones, explosives and videos for radicalization.
They were arrested at different times in Kigali City, Rusizi and Nyabihu districts.
The suspects said that they were assigned to shatter different buildings including Kigali City Tower, Downtown and others in Nyabugogo.
These attacks were being plotted in revenge for Rwanda’s intervention to fight terrorists in Cabo Delgado of Mozambique.
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