SADC leader urges Congo-stationed Rwandan rebels to surrender
Iran Press TV
Sun Jan 4, 2015 4:58PM
Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has called on Rwandan Hutu rebels stationed in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to surrender.
"SADC launches an earnest and urgent appeal on the leadership of the FDLR (the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) and all remaining combatants to immediately and unconditionally present themselves for disarmament,' said Jacob Zuma, who is the president South Africa, in a statement on Sunday.
Zuma also warned the rebel group of the dire consequences of their aggression, saying the SADC is 'ready to play its fullest part in this regard."
This is while the majority of the FDLR militants refused to surrender themselves before the initial deadline of January 2 set by African leaders.
Meanwhile, Martin Kobler, the head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), urged the FDLR rebels not to miss the chance for peace.
'To all FDLR, you can help stabilize your area by reaching MONUSCO or the Congolese authorities and return to peaceful life in Rwanda,' he tweeted.
The FDLR rebel group includes 1,500 to 2,000 fighters from the ethnic Rwandan Hutu tribe, some of whom are perceived to have taken part in the notorious Rwandan genocide of 1994, which claimed the lives of thousands of civilians.
Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades, such as grinding poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and a war in the east of the country that has dragged since 1998 and left over 5.5 million people dead.
FNR/HMV/SS
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