Rwandan troops attacked soldiers inside DR Congo and aided the M23 rebel group with weapons and support, a United Nations group of experts said, citing “solid evidence” despite reiterated denials by Kigali.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the militia, which stems from the long fallout from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and has captured swathes of territory in recent months. Kigali repeatedly denied supporting M23 and the armed group maintains it does not receive Rwandan support.

Yolande Makolo, Rwanda’s government spokesperson, said in a statement the government would not comment on an “unpublished and unvalidated report.” She said an earlier report by the experts’ group in June “contained none of these false allegations”.

DRC government spokesman Patrick Muyaya welcomed the work of the UN group on Thursday. “The truth always triumphs in the end. We hope that conclusions will be drawn quickly to put an end to Rwanda’s interference and bring back lasting peace,” Muyaya wrote on Twitter.

The UN experts found evidence that M23 fighters and Rwandan troops “jointly attacked” a large DRC army base in Rumangabo, in eastern North Kivu province, on May 25, a day after Rwandan forces had crossed into the DRC. 

An estimated 1,000 Rwandan troops also cut the main highway leading to the provincial capital Goma, an important commercial hub on the Rwandan border, and attacked Congolese positions, it said.

“On repeated occasions, aerial imagery showed large columns of up to 500 armed men in the vicinity of the DRC, Rwandan and Ugandan borders, moving in a very organized manner,” the expert group said.

-Aljazeera

A Congolese military delegation was sent to Beni, northeastern DRC this Tuesday, two days after three people died and several were injured after UN peacekeepers opened fire on civilians in Kasindi at the border with Uganda.

"The government cannot abandon its people, that is why I am here and visiting the wounded while we are waiting for them to receive appropriate care in Beni or elsewhere, in accordance with the doctor's orders.", said Charles Ehuta Omeonga, military administrator of Beni territory.

Soon after the incident on July 31, the UN issued a statement reading its soldiers opened fire "for unknown reasons and forced their way through". The president of the Beni Urban Youth Council, said they want the U.N. to cover medical care for the victims. 

More than 30 people have died in protests in the last week in the North Kivu province. Participants are denouncing the failure of the UN's mission to protect people from armed groups.

U.N's Secretary-General, António Guterres said he was outraged by the shooting and called for an investigation of the Kasindi incident. And President Félix Tshisekedi chaired a crisis meeting as in addition to Kasindi other deaths were reported in Goma, Butembo, Uvira and Kanyabayonga.

The situation is still very tense in the region. On Monday, the Congolese police had to disperse around 100 protestors in Beni. The Congolese government said it would convene a meeting with MONUSCO to re-evaluate their withdrawal.

The United Nations mission in DR Congo (Monusco) on Thursday "deeply regretted" the decision to expel its spokesman Mathias Gillmann from DR Congo and "took note" of the request made by the Congolese authorities, in a statement.

The Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula, asked Monusco on Wednesday to do everything possible to ensure that Mr. Gillmann leaves Congolese territory "as soon as possible", inviting the mission to give "the benefit of urgency" to this request.

"Monusco regrets the expulsion of its spokesman by the Congolese government," said Thursday a statement of Monusco, which "takes note" of this "decision of the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to ask a member of its staff to leave the country. 

However, "the Mission is committed to continuing to work alongside the Congolese population and authorities to implement the mandate entrusted to it by the Security Council," the document added.

"The comments made by Mr. Gillmann on RFI stating that Monusco did not have the military means to confront the M23 are at the root of the current tension. We have asked Monusco in a friendly manner to leave the country," a government source told AFP on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"On a daily basis, Monusco prevents and responds to attacks against civilians through various mechanisms including intelligence gathering and exchange," a Monusco spokesman told AFP.

Monusco also provides warnings and regular technical and logistical support to Congolese security forces.

Since July 25, angry demonstrators have ransacked and looted Monusco facilities in the DRC since 1999. Four peacekeepers and 32 protesters have been killed in a week of demonstrations in at least four eastern towns, according to official reports.

Monusco is one of the largest UN missions deployed in the world with some 14,000 troops in several eastern cities. Since 2019, pro-democracy movements and some local elected officials have been calling for the departure of Monusco.

-Africa News

The death toll following the protests in Eastern DRC this Tuesday rose to 15. According to a UN spokesperson and the Congolese government, three members of the MONUSCO mission and at least 12 protesters were killed in two cities of the North Kivu province.

Since Monday, demonstrators have been gathering in various cities of Eastern DRC saying they want the UN's mission in the region to end and the peacekeepers to leave, claiming they haven't been able to counter armed groups. "The MONUSCO has been here in DRC for over 20 years, but there is no peace in North Kivu, no peace in the East, how can you explain the M23 rebel group has more powerful weapons than MONUSCO.", says Mugisho Muhindo a protester in Goma.

The situation in Butembo, the region's third city was chaotic all Tuesday afternoon and activities were paralysed. 

In the morning, hundreds of protesters had surrounded UN's logistics base in Goma and attacked the mission's transit camp outside the city centre. And according to journalists on the ground, Congolese security forces struggled to contain the crowd.

A UN spokesperson said that the situation was still tense and a backup would be sent.

-Africa News