Rwanda rejects U.S. blame for attack on DRC displaced camp
KIGALI | The Rwandan government has rejected blame for Friday's attack on internally displaced people's camp in the eastern DR Congo city of Goma.
In a statement released Sunday, May 5, Kigali said it was appalled by the attempt by the US State Department to "immediately and without any investigation" place blame on Rwanda for the loss of lives in the IDP camps.
Barely 24 hours after at least nine people were killed in the deadly attack, the US State Department said Friday's attack came from positions held by the Rwanda Defence Forcws and the M23 group.
"It is essential that all states respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and hold accountable all actors for human rights abuses in the conflict in eastern DR Congo," the US said.
But Rwandan says it will not shoulder responsibility for the bombing of the IDP camps around Goma, or the security and governance failures of the Kinshasa government.
"Credible investigation and verification should be completed first, to establish what really happened," the statement released by Rwandan government spokesspeeson Yolande Makolo says.
"The scapegoating of Rwanda by the US government for the shortcomings and wrongdoing of DR Congo has become a pattern, and predictable."
At the weekend, Ms Makolo said it was inconceivable that their own "professiownl RDF" would attack an IDP camp, pointing to a glaring issue raised by the US.
The US said the attack came from position held by RDF and M23 rebels. Rwanda feels this does not make military sense since it would expose their own actions.
Forces engaged in offensives, worse still see subversive ones such as the M23, rarely attack trom positions thar expose theri own trails.
Kigali said warnings about Congolese national army FARDC placement of heavy artillery within IDP camps had been issued by organisations in Goma, including Médecins Sans Frontières.
"This was followed by the deadly shelling witnessed by hundreds of people including those affected, as well as the targeted, point-blank shooting of protesters in the IDP camp by the FARDC and Burundian armed forces," it said.
"This endorses the belligerent position of the DR Congo government, including the FARDC’s coalition with the FDLR genocidal militia/Wazalendo/European mercenaries/SADC forces/Burundian armed forces."
Rwanda said the position taken by the US government "raises serious questions about its credibility" as a facilitator in the region, and "undermines its ability to play a constructive role" towards a peaceful solution.
The attack came just days after Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi managed to get French president Emmanuel Macron to cite Rwanda for the M23 aggression in eastern DR Congo.
Mr Macron last week asked Kigali to cease support to the rebels.
But Rwanda says the international community, while claiming to support regional processes towards a political solution and durable peace, has been indifferent to the dramatic military build-up in eastern DR Congo, armed conflict and the resulting deplorable humanitarian situation of millions of Congolese citizens.
"President Tshisekedi and the Congolese leadership persistently threaten to invade Rwanda and overthrow its government by force," it said.
"This is why Rwanda will continue to take measures to ensure complete defense of Rwandan territory, and take any legitimate measures to defend our country."
