Kinshasa [Democratic Republic of the Congo], March 3: The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo has accused Rwanda of dressing up prisoners in military uniforms in an effort to pass them off as newly-captured rebels linked to the Rwandan genocide.
It comes after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo said they had captured fighters from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) - a militia founded by ethnic Hutus who took part in the 1994 genocide against Rwanda's Tutsis.
But the DR Congo military said a video allegedly showing the handover of 20 FDLR rebels at a border crossing was "faked".
M23 fighters have been advancing through eastern DR Congo since January, seizing Bukavu and Goma, the biggest city in the region.
The fighting has forced about 500,000 people from their homes, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.
In its statement, the Congolese military said the Rwandan video was a "faked incident in poor taste orchestrated with the sole aim of discrediting our army".
It said Rwanda had taken old FDLR prisoners and dressed them in new military uniforms to claim they had been newly captured in Goma.
"This is part of the Rwandan strategy to justify the invasion of parts of the DRC's territory," it added.
Rwanda has used the presence of FDLR forces in eastern Congo to justify its support for the M23.
UN experts have previously estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan troops are in eastern Congo.
Source: Qatar Tribune
