CPGL Meeting: Rebel Forces in Eastern Congo Undefeated

by AfroAmerica Network on January 24, 2011

CPGL Meeting: Rebel Forces in Eastern Congo Unscathed Despite Multiple Joint Military Operations

Monday, January 24, 2011

The defense ministers of the Great Lakes Region cooperation entity known as CEPGL who met in Kigali, Rwanda late last week have recognized that the recent numerous joint military operations conducted in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have failed and instead reinforced the resolve of rebels and armed groups operating in Eastern DRC.

The defense ministers pointed to an alarming cooperation among these armed groups and the potential for alliances with international rogue groups. According to sources in Kigali, the meeting went as far as to speculate that Islamists groups, especially El Shabab of Somalia, may have entered the scene. However, the information may be more of propaganda and a way to garner the sympathy and perhaps the support from the United States of America, France, and Great Britain.

Among the three countries forming CEPGL, Rwanda, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda seems more vocal, despite that the rebels are based on the DRC territory. The Rwandan daily newsmagazine, the New Times, owned by Rwandan intelligence services, announced immediately after the meeting that the defense ministers condemned an alliance between “”the FDLR, groups Kayumba / Karegeya and Nsengiyumva and Gaheza, the Mayi-Mayi and Yakutumba Cheka, the Patriotic Front for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC ) and group Soki well known in Rutshuru, North Kivu. ”

General Kayumba Nyamwasa and Colonel Patrick Karegeya are former closest aides of president Kagame. They fled the country in the last couple of years after strong disagreements. Their flight created a rift within the Rwandan Government army (see our article WikiLeaks’s Secret Documents Point to US Concerns over Divisions Kagame’s Inner c ircle and Repression of November 29, 2010). Rwandan President Paul Kagame was so worried. In June 2010, Rwandan assassins, believed to be Rwandan Intelligence operatives attempted to assassinate General Kayumba Nyamwasa in South Africa, where he has sought asylum. General Kayumba Nyamwasa was a victim of the first assassination attempt on June 19, 2010 in Johannesburg (see our article here ). After the first assassination attempt, the South African Government pointed a finger to intelligence operatives from Rwanda as responsible for the failed assassination. The accusation led to a strain in the two governments relations. The South African Government eventually recalled its Ambassador to Rwanda (see our article here and here).

Hence, a paranoia has developed around the Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame. The meeting in Kigali may have given the opportunity to garner sympathy and the mention of Islamic fundamentalist groups may be an indication of the desperation of the Rwandan dictator and the fear of the threat caused by his two former allies, now turned worse enemies. On January 17, 2011, a military court condemned the two former officers: General Kayumba Nyamwasa, Colonel Patric Karegeya and their associates, Major Theogene Rudasingwa and Gerald Gahima to more that twenty years imprisonment each and loss of all military ranks and benefits. The four have recentrly created a political party with the aim to overthrown General Paul Kagame.

In the meeting, Burundi expressed its own ceoncerns regarding the renewed rebellion formed by Front de Liberation Nationale (FNL). FNL fell out with the current president of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, after he attempted to jail the leaders of the opposition group.