The authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced Wednesday the arrest of two Rwandans who were allegedly preparing an attack in the capital, Kinshasa, on the occasion of the end-of-year festivities, amid tensions between the two countries.
The Congolese government has indicated that the two Rwandans were «spies» and added that they had the collaboration of two Congolese citizens, while adding that they had the cover of an NGO called African Health Development Organization.
«These spies entered DRC under the pretext of (working for) an NGO,» he said, before stressing that «they had infiltrated high-ranking officials of the Armed Forces, major political figures, economic operators and members of civil society,» as reported by the Congolese news portal 7sur7.
In this regard, it revealed that «the telephone of the arrested Rwandan military officer reveals that he had access to various strategic sites in the capital, in complicity with certain officers of the Congolese Armed Forces», without giving further details.
On the other hand, the DRC Executive stressed that the suspects were preparing «a Machiavellian plan» and added that «investigations are continuing on the basis of clues and evidence provided by the detainees», without Kigali making any statement on the arrests for the time being.
Tensions between the DRC and Rwanda have risen in recent months due to offensives by the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) in the Congolese province of North Kivu, in the east of the country. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of backing the group.
UN experts stated in a recent report that the Rwandan authorities maintain a «direct intervention» in DRC through their support to the group, while pointing to a collusion between the Congolese Army and several armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), as denounced by Kigali.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
