{African leaders are set to meet later this month in Luanda, Angola to decide on action to disarm Rwandan rebels based in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), after an ultimatum for the rebels to surrender expired.
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Heads of state and government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) will meet on January 15 and 16.
The deadline set by African leaders for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan rebel group, to disarm voluntarily or face military action expired on January 2.
South African President Jacob Zuma, who acts as the chair of the SADC security arm, said only 337 rebel fighters have disarmed since May 2014, which represents approximately 24 percent of the FDLR’s estimated total number of combatants.
“The FDLR has therefore to date not complied in full with the conditions imposed by the Heads of State and Government of SADC and the ICGLR,” said Zuma.
“SADC remains committed to the internationally mandated objective of neutralizing all negative forces operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the FDLR, and remains ready to play its fullest part in this regard,” he added.
The FDLR is the primary remnant Rwandan Hutu rebel group fighting in the eastern part of the DR Congo. For years, FDLR fighters have been accused of being responsible for terrorist attacks and mass killings of civilians. Some of its fighters are accused of having played a part in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
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