Hutu militias have re-occupied areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo despite the recent offensive against them, UN officials say.
Fighters of the FDLR group were driven from their bases by a joint force of Congolese and Rwandan troops.
But United Nations refugee agency officials say the FDLR has returned, as Rwanda starts to withdraw its troops.
From Bloomberg:
Rwandan rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo attacked civilians and forced thousands to flee their homes, the United Nations said, a day before the two nations are expected to announce a successful end to a joint hunt for the insurgents.
The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, killed and raped civilians in several villages in North Kivu province, ”sparking a new wave of displacement” since Feb. 13, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said today in an emailed statement.
From Radio Okapi:
For his part, the president of civil society in North Kivu worries that the FDLR will only increase their activities after the Rwandan troops retreat. Jason Luneno says, "The FDLR have not returned to Rwanda. Their combat forces were dispersed into the interior of the province. And we worry that the acts of revenge they have already started to commit against our population will only get worse."
De son côté, le président de la société civile du Nord-Kivu craint que l’activisme des FDLR ne s’accentue avec ce retrait des troupes rwandaises. Jason Luneno se plaint : « Les FDLR ne sont pas partis au Rwanda. Les forces combattantes ont été dispersées à l’intérieur de la province. Et nous craignons que les exactions qu’ils ont déjà commencé à commettre sur nos populations, ne puissent s’aggraver. »
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