FDLR kills 10 in eastern DR Congo
At least 10 civilians were killed and 12 others injured in attacks attributed to the FDLR militia and their allied Wazalendo fighters in eastern DR Congo, according to the AFC/M23 movement.
The attacks reportedly occurred on Sunday, May 24, in the villages of Malemo and Kalembe, situated between the territories of Masisi and Walikale in North Kivu Province, an area long affected by armed conflict and ethnic violence.
“A large column of FDLR elements, supported by Wazalendo militias, carried out a violent and premeditated attack against the villages of Malemo and Kalembe,” AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka in a post on X on Monday, May 25.
According to Kanyuka, seven civilians were killed and three injured in Malemo, while three others died and nine were wounded in Kalembe.
Kanyuka also said that the attackers abducted a local chief whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The FDLR, which fights alongside the Congolese government coalition, was founded by remnants of perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda who fled to eastern DR Congo after the genocide was stopped by the then-RPA Inkotanyi.
Over the years, the militia has been accused of spreading genocidal ideology targeting Banyamulenge and other Congolese Tutsi communities, contributing to cycles of violence, displacement, and insecurity in eastern DR Congo.
The AFC/M23 rebellion has consistently argued that its insurgency stems from the Congolese government’s failure to protect Congolese Tutsi communities from persecution and attacks by armed groups linked to the FDLR, among other factors.
Rwanda has repeatedly accused the Congolese government and its armed forces (FARDC) of collaborating with the FDLR.
Kigali considers the group a direct security threat, citing past cross-border attacks that killed civilians, damaged infrastructure.
The Sunday attacks come amid calls to disarm the militia. Under the Washington peace accords signed between Rwanda and DR Congo on December last year, Kinshasa committed to dismantling the FDLR network, but the situation on the ground has not change, according to officials.
“The Kinshasa regime continues, despite its commitments, to support, arm and coordinate the FDLR genocidal groups as well as the Wazalendo militias, thus contributing to persistent insecurity and violence targeting civilian populations,” Kanyuka said.
