UN report: Congo rebel network spans 25 countries

[David]

AP


CONAKRY, Guinea – One of Africa's most brutal rebel movements relies on a vast, international network of supporters in at least 25 countries including in the United States and Europe, a United Nations report said.

The U.N. findings will be discussed by the Security Council Wednesday. They are a scathing indictment of how little has been done by the international community to cut off logistical support to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known by its French acronym FDLR, an ethnic Hutu militia which has wreaked havoc in Congo.

The report, which has not been made public but was made available to The Associated Press, reveals that the overseas supporters in North America, Europe and Africa have become the backbone of the group's day-to-day operation, including in formulating its military strategy.

The Congolese army has also been funneling weapons and ammunition to the rebel militia in violation of U.N. sanctions, and its own interests of eradicating the group, according to the report.

The U.N. Security Council was due to discuss the report but those involved in the debate say that several council members have tried to table the discussion because the findings include evidence of material support to the rebel group by member states.

The FDLR is made up of Rwandan Hutu refugees who took cover in neighboring Congo after the end of Rwanda's 1994 genocide of half a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Many of the FDLR's founders and several of their current leaders are accused of having led the genocide. The group claims that it is fighting to "liberate" Rwanda, a country currently led by a Tutsi president.

The U.N. said that the Congolese-led army operation against the FDLR earlier this year was a failure — the rebel militia having regained much of its strategic territory that it initially lost.

The group also retains control of lucrative gold mines in eastern Congo, allowing them to traffic millions of dollars in minerals through the country's porous borders.

While previous reports have indicated that the Hutu militia's main source of funding is its control of Congo's mineral riches, the U.N. report argues that the FDLR's international network living abroad is also a critical source of support.

U.N. investigators analyzed telephone logs of senior militia commanders showing regular contact with individuals, charity groups and government officials in at least 25 countries, including in North America, Africa and Europe.

The U.N. found evidence that the group's Germany-based president Ignace Murwanashyaka was helping negotiate arms shipments as well as organizing Western Union money transfers to commanders in the field.

Murwanashyaka, the 46-year-old chairman of the rebel army was arrested earlier this month and had for some time been on a U.N. sanctions list due to his FDLR activities. Despite the sanctions, investigators found that Murwanashyaka continued to funnel money to his FDLR colleagues in the bush, working through Hutu refugees in Germany.