Rwandan President General Paul Kagame has decided to send more troop reinforcements to M23 Congolese rebels. The troops, selected among the Rwandan elite and special forces, will be officially pursuing Rwandan rebels, but the mission is, in reality, making sure that M23 rebels are reinforced when the Kampala negotiations among M23 rebels and the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) collapse.
From AfroAmerica Network sources within Rwandan Defense Forces, the deployment of 1,000 Rwandan Defense Forces soldiers started mid last week. They crossed the border into DRC from Kinigi, in Northen Rwanda. The fresh troops are under the command of Colonel John Bosco Butare. Rwandan President Kagame has been preparing the international opinion by alluding to sending RDF troops to DRC to hunt down the Rwandan fighters who have been living in DRC ad have recently launched two attacks inside Rwanda, within one week (see our article here and here. This will be the official statement, when these Rwandan troops are identified by NGOs or the United Nations.
During the RPF rebellion, Colonel John Bosco Butare was one of the most effective soldiers within the protection unit of the the late RPF’s Chairman Alexis Kanyarengwe. The unit was under the command of General Alex Kagame. General Alex Kagame has been the main coordinator of the Rwandan special forces sent to the DRC to support Rwandan government’s proxy militias in Eastern DRC, including Raia Mutomboki and Mai-Mai Cheka.
AfroAmerica Network sources within RDF have also learned that General Alex Kagame was in charge of training new recruits in Kinigi early this summer. The recruits later joined ex-CNDP commander General Bosco Ntaganda. General Bosco Ntaganda has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by his troops in the never ending DRC wars. General Bosco Ntaganda often travelled to Kinigi in early summer.
Meanwhile, formal talks between the DRC government and M23 rebels are in progress in Kampala, Uganda. However, observers remain skeptical regarding the results of these talks, based on the multitude of previous unsuccessful deals, agreements, and accords regarding Eastern DRC.
Besides, sources close to M23 rebels have confided to AfroAmerica Network that these talks are part of the “Talk and Fight” strategy successfully used by General Paul Kagame in the past. This means that while the talks are on-going, M23 rebels will reinforce their position, acquire new troops and fresh supplies, and work on their tarnished public image. If the DRC government does not cave in to M23 rebels’s demands, then fighting will resume with M23 rebels having an upper hand.
This may explain why General Kagame has been sending M23 fresh troops to prepare for the next move in case these talks fall apart.
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President Kagame cannot seem to stay out of the Kivu’s and President Kabila seems unable to rule them. My idea is to let Rwanda have the Kivu’s and run them with the same skill that he has demonstrated in turning around Rwanda. Perhaps the Eastern Congo mineral wealth would serve the region better in Mr. Kagame’s hands.