Photo 2:EJVN team interviewing the captured Rwandan soldier
A delegation from the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) met on Thursday, January 2, with the alleged Rwandan soldier captured by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) in the Lubero territory in North Kivu. Several military effects including weapons, bombs and drone wreckage recovered on the battlefield were also presented to the delegation, security sources reported on Friday.
This MCVE delegation was tasked with verifying Rwanda's direct involvement in the war in eastern DRC, said the spokesperson for the Sokola 1 Grand Nord operational sector, Colonel Mak Hazukay.
This visit comes twelve days after the capture at the front, on December 21, of the alleged first class soldier of the special unit of the Rwandan army by the FARDC. This was during the clashes between the army and the M23 rebellion, supported by Rwanda, in the village of Ndoluma in the south of the Lubero territory.
It was at the invitation of the governor of the province of North Kivu and the commander of operations of the Sokola 1 Grand Nord operational sector that this delegation arrived on Thursday in Lubero centre, approximately 50 kilometres from the front lines.
They went to Lubero territory where fighting has intensified in recent weeks. They spoke with military officials engaged against the M23 rebels in the region.
Jean-de-Dieu Iradakunda, a first class soldier in the Rwandan army arrested on 21 December during clashes in the locality of Nduluma, south of Lubero, was one of the pieces of evidence presented to the expanded joint verification mechanism.
In addition, several military effects of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) seized by Congolese troops were also brandished. For the military authorities, the Democratic Republic of Congo wants to call the international community to witness the role played by the Kigali regime in the destabilisation of eastern Congo.
"Several RDF military effects, including weapons, bombs, specialties and wrecks of kamikaze drones recovered from the battlefield, were presented to the delegation. The objective of this approach is to show, through the expanded joint verification mechanism and other structures, which advocate the return of peace in the DRC, the flagrant involvement and role played by Rwanda in the war of aggression in the DRC," explains Lieutenant Colonel Mak Hazukay, military spokesperson in the area.
The Congolese government has always denounced the presence of more than 4,000 Rwandan soldiers, who support the M23 armed group. However, Kigali has always rejected these accusations outright, claiming that the conflict was rather Congolese-Congolese.
Against a backdrop of mutual accusations, relations between the two countries have deteriorated to the point of no return. The latest attempts by Joao Laurenço, Angolan president and designated facilitator of the African Union in the conflict, have come to nothing, while Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame are due to meet in Luanda on 15 December for the signing of a final peace agreement.
The expanded Joint Verification Mechanism was established to monitor and verify the implementation of regional agreements and commitments, particularly those on peace and security in the Great Lakes region, particularly with regard to issues related to armed conflict, cross-border security, illegal exploitation of natural resources and the fight against groups.
However, despite the establishment of this mechanism created within the framework of the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement in 2013, borders, including those of the DRC, are constantly violated, notably by its neighbor, Rwanda, through militias of its obedience, including the M23.
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