15 01 14 Chimpreports Rwanda Deploys Tanks On DRC Border Amid War Threats

 Highly
placed sources said senior Rwandan officials in December 2013 held emergency
meetings with influential leaders in the international community in Kigali and
United States, warning that any invasion of Rwanda would lead to “catastrophic
consequences” on DRC and the region.

 

Chimpreports
understands that Rwandan officials relayed classified intelligence from former
FDLR fighters regarding a military build-up of negative forces in eastern DRC to
the international community which it accused of being “passive.”

 

Rwanda
also told United Nations that the militants’ bases are well known and that they
had started receiving heavy military supplies.  

 

They
further alleged that some countries hostile to Rwanda were part of the plan and
expressed willingness to contribute fighters to reinforce the FDLR and other
negative forces to overthrow the government in Kigali.

 

A
European country was also accused of promising to “provide all the necessary
funding” for the war on Rwanda.

 

Rwanda
officials further said that some members in the UN Force Intervention Brigade
were in bed with FDLR instead of fighting the negative force as required by the
UN mandate.

 

The
UN brigade that fought and defeated the M23 comprised soldiers from Malawi,
South Africa and Tanzania.

 

Before
he was strangled in a South African Hotel, dissident Patrick Karegeya was also
identified as the coordinator of the war plan against Rwanda.

 

It
is thought Karegeya was working with individuals from France and FDLR not only
to destabilise but remove resident Kagame from power by use of arms.

 

Imminent
chaos

 

“The
Rwandan government was very clear that it would never at any one time accept to
see a repeat of genocide. This is a trying moment for the nation as it remembers
over one million lives lost in 1994 at the hands of the genocidal Hutu
government. If regional leaders do not act now, Rwanda might even take a
pre-emptive action,” a senior official told this website in the wee hours of
Tuesday.

 

The
source added: “FDLR fighters would escape from their camps and bring
intelligence to us. They revealed the whole plan. The UN has been warned, US, UK
and others. They were told to expect chaos that will never stop in the region if
these people go ahead with this plan.”

 

Deployment

 

By
Monday night, thousands of Rwandan troops and heavy artillery from the
mechanised Brigade were being stationed along the borders with DRC.

 

A
source said this was the first time Rwanda was deploying such a huge number of
elite units on the DRC border since the 1990s.

 

The
development comes against the backdrop of worsening relations between Kigali and
Dar es Salaam following the expulsion of Rwandans from Tanzania last
year.

 

Rwanda
also believes that Tanzania is either supportive or sympathetic to the FDLR
cause, basing on statements from President Jakaya Kikwete that Kigali should sit
down with the militants for talks.

 

FDLR
is considered a terrorist organisation.

 

Tanzania
also contributed to the defeat of M23 which had provided a buffer zone to Rwanda
against the marauding FDLR.

 

The
clearance of M23 bases left a vacuum which would later be filled with militia
groups accused of perpetrating genocide in 1994 and exhibited intentions to
attack Rwanda.

 

Diplomacy
failing?

 

With
temperatures hitting boiling levels, sources said, President Paul Kagame
contacted President Museveni over the matter.

 

It
is important to note that Rwanda’s stability remains one of Uganda’s main
security interests.

 

Realising
that a regional war could be around the corner, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya
security chiefs recently signed a pact in Kigali.

 

A
three day meeting to discuss establishing a Mutual Defence Pact and a Mutual
Peace and Security Pact between Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda was concluded on
January 8 in Kigali.

 

Defence
Ministers and Ministers of Internal Security from respective countries concluded
the meeting by approving relevant documents that should culminate into the two
Pacts.

 

Rwanda
Minister of Defence, Gen James Kabarebe said in his speech while closing the
meeting that “the cooperation between our countries has brought real advantages
to our people including free movement of people and goods, removal of non-tariff
barriers and other several social-economic projects. However, these projects
cannot be sustained unless there is peace and security”.

 

He
further said that Mutual Defence and Security Pacts will address the threats of
several marauding negative armed groups such as the genocidal FDLR, terrorist
groups of ADF-NALU and Al-Shabaab and several transnational crimes that require
“collective security framework.”

 

Sources
conversant with the pact said the three countries agreed to work together in
case any of the country is threatened by aggression led by external
forces.

 

This
implies that an attack on Rwanda or any other signatory to the pact would be
considered as an attack on the three tripartite countries.

 

By
selecting Kigali as the venue for the signing of the pact, it appeared that
regional countries intended to show their solidarity with Rwanda amidst threats
of war.

 

Angola
Summit

 

Meanwhile,
Ugandan senior diplomats in the Great Lakes region have already arrived in
Angola’s Capital, Luanda in preparation for the 5th Ordinary Summit of the
International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) scheduled to take
place this Wednesday.

 

South
African President Jacob Zuma has already confirmed his attendance.

 

The
ICGLR members are Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Republic of
Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, South
Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

 

The
summit which will be chaired by, President José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, is
anticipated to discuss peace, stability and development in the region with a
focus on the current situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),
the Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan.

 

Officials
told this website on Monday night that President Yoweri Museveni is likely to
attend the function.

 

The
ICGLR has in recent years proved to be a successful platform for leaders to iron
out their grievances in one-on-one discussions and averting possible
confrontations which would lead to a regional war