Key Rwandan rebel leader killed in fighting in eastern DR Congo
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - A senior commander of the Hutu rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed rebel group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Lieutenant-General Sylvestre Mudacumura, has been killed along with several other soldiers, according to reliable reports obtained on Wednesday by PANA in Kigali.
Reports quoted the DR Congo's army spokesperson Richard Kasonga as confirming that Lt. Gen. Mudacumura, who has led the FDLR for years, was killed overnight in fighting in eastern DR Congo’s Rutshuru territory.
He was the deputy commander of the Rwandan presidential guard during the 1994 genocide, before fleeing to DR Congo with other senior security officials.
The FDLR, which was formerly known as the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR), is made up primarily of individuals responsible for the genocide who fled Rwanda in 1994 including members of the defeated ex-Rwanda Armed Forces and other militias.
In 2012, the Pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Lt. Gen. Mudacumura, 64.
The rebel leader born in Rwanda, is suspected of committing war crimes from 20 January 2009 to the end of September 2010, during the conflict in the Kivus, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Basing its decision on evidence presented by the Prosecutor of, the ICC trial chamber considered that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Mudacumura is responsible for nine counts of war crimes, consisting of attacking civilians, murder, mutilation, cruel treatment, rape, torture, destruction of property, pillaging and outrages against personal dignity.
-0- PANA TWA/MA 18Sept2019
