President Paul Kagame has said Rwanda will not send its troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo to flush out Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) even if the United Nations and neighbouring countries fail to launch a military offensive against the rebels.

Instead, he said, the country would tighten security within its borders to ensure the rebels do not cross over and commit atrocities. He then accused the international community of not being decisive on the FDLR question over the past decade.

“What has been playing out relating to FDLR has not been helpful at all,” President Kagame said. “The insensitivities around the heinous crimes they committed in the genocide are revealing really of the fact that this genocide was much broader than people would have wanted us to believe.”

READ: Kagame complains of inaction on DR Congo rebels

FDLR is a Hutu extremist group that has operated in eastern DRC for the past two decades. Its senior cadre are accused of carrying out the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. A UN deadline for the group to disarm lapsed on January 2.

“I have never understood why different groups (ADF, FNL) were attacked and confronted by the same international community at short notice, they do so without warning, they don’t need to have a meeting, but when it comes to FDLR they say let’s wait,” the president observed.

The head of state was referring to the action by the Congo-based UN force against other militant groups operating in the volatile eastern part of the country, along the border with Rwanda. He wondered why the same powers that have expressed outrage at the genocide step back when it comes to dealing with the real issue.

READ: UN forces ready to attack FDLR, as Luanda summit is called off

Rwanda and Uganda have twice sent their troops into DRC, ostensibly to rout groups posing a threat to their security. President Kagame however ruled out the possibility of deploying troops in the vast, mineral-rich Central African country.

“We cannot have cross-border activities to create security on our territory,” President Kagame said. “We don’t have authority, we don’t have a say on the other side of the border, on other people’s territory.

“Those who have the authority, the international community... it has been in their hands for a long time and they will decide what to do.”

Calls for a military offensive against FDLR have been gaining momentum with countries, including Tanzania and South Africa, pledging soldiers to support the joint operation expected to be led by Congolese government forces and the DRC-based United Nations Stabilisation Mission (Monusco).

The attack will be carried out by the 3,000-strong UN Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), which comprises South African, Tanzanian and Malawian soldiers, alongside the Congolese military. South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has pledged an additional 1,200 troops for the offensive.

The FDLR issue pits Kigali against Dar es Salaam with the initial position by Tanzania to favour holding talks with the rebels instead of launching a military offensive, having Kigali seething.

Last week, Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe reiterated the controversial call by President Jakaya Kikwete for talks with the FDLR as opposed to military action. But a few days later, President Kikwete affirmed his country’s commitment to a military offensive.