Lambert Mende also says another round of military offensives have been
launched against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
(FDLR) to defeat the armed group in a bid to ensure security and peace
in parts of the country the rebels operate.

“Thanks to the combination of the FARDC and the assistance of MONUSCO,
we managed now to reduce from 55 armed groups to 21 or less, and we hope
that this phenomenon will end very soon in our country,” said Mende.  

He acknowledged the existence of security threats to the population in
spite of the successes achieved, since the remaining armed groups yet to
be defeated continue to terrorize the population.

Mende says the administration will keep the pressure on the remaining
rebels to further reduce their number and their attacks on the
population.

“Of course we will reduce their number [and] their territorial
expansion. Wherever they are as armed groups they are terrorizing our
people and that is why we are after them. We are crushing them and our
armed forces are fighting them,” said Mende.

He says the government has recently launched an offensive against the
FDLR in the restive parts of the country including in North and South
Kivu provinces.

Mende says the military campaign against the FDLR has been a success.

“When we started the fight against the FDLR their number was something
amounting to 7,000 to 8,000. Now, they are less than 1,000. So we can
say that a lot has been done in crushing those [rebels], forcing them
back to their country or neutralizing them,” said Mende. “That is what
we are doing now and with less than 1,000 they will soon disappear. We
need them to disappear from our country or be neutralized and disarmed.”

He says the DRC administration is appreciative of MONUSCO’s cooperation
to rid the country of armed groups, which he says will create peace and
stability.