Advertisement

Kigali deploys troops in Bangui, Juba

Saturday January 11 2014
rwanda

It is not clear how the Rwandan soldiers will operate alongside the Congolese and French given their historical and ideological differences. TEA Graphic

A contingent of 800 Rwandan troops is to arrive this week to contribute to peacekeeping efforts in the troubled Central African Republic, as the country intensifies efforts to build its image as a regional peacemaker.

Since 2010, Rwanda has had to deal with a publicity nightmare caused by allegations by UN Group of Experts and human rights activists that the country has manipulated Congolese politics and security to expand its interests in eastern Congo.

In a clear signal of its intention to play a greater peacekeeping role, Kigali this week also announced that it would be sending more policemen to South Sudan and Darfur to boost the already existing mission there, in what is being seen as its latest attempt to mend a tattered image.

In 2010, Rwanda threatened to withdraw co-operation with the UN if a draft report criticising its army were published, prompting an impromptu visit by UN Chief Ban-Ki Moon.

Kigali said it would reconsider its contributions to UN peacekeeping missions, dismissing claims in the UN report as “insane.”

The report, titled “Democratic Republic of the Congo Human Rights Mapping,” was compiled by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and accused the Rwanda Defence Force of killing civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s — acts it said may amount to genocide.

Advertisement

“Attempts to take action on this report — either through its release or leaks to the media — will force us to withdraw from Rwanda’s various commitments to the United Nations, especially in the area of peacekeeping,” said Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, in strongly worded letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

READ: Rwanda in the spotlight as it takes up seat at UN Security Council

Approached by African Union

However, last week, Ms Mushikiwabo said Rwanda was approached by the African Union and asked to help restore peace in CAR, which has been torn apart by ethnic and religious conflict.

“In not more than 10 days, Rwandan troops should be on the ground in the Central African Republic. We are sending a battalion of 800 officers who are currently undergoing final preparations for the mission,” Ms Mushikiwabo said in an interview with a local radio station last week.

She did not reveal the mandate under which they will deployed, but it is expected that Rwandan troops will join an existing hybrid peacekeeping force made up of 1,000 French troops and a 2,500-strong AU peacekeeping force.

The head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Co-operation and Security in the Lower Chamber of Deputies Zenon Mutimura said that legislators back the country’s peacekeeping programmes.

“It is in line with the country’s principles to contribute to peace elsewhere on the continent. We think Rwanda troops will help restore peace in Central African Republic, and the House backs these initiatives,” said Mr Mutimura.

It is not yet clear whether the troops will have a mandate to engage the warring factions of the Seleka and Anti-Baraka groups that have put the impoverished mineral-rich state under siege.

Last week, CAR interim president Michel Djotodia said he had resigned over his failure to quell his country’s religious violence and control Seleka rebels previously under his control. He resigned along with prime minister Nicolas Tiangaye.

READ: Central African Republic president resigns‎

Several countries including Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo have offered to contribute peacekeepers.

More than 4,000 troops have already been deployed, with 850 Burundians, 800 Cameroonians, 850 from Congo Republic, 850 from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 500 from Gabon, 200 from Equatorial Guinea and 850 Chadians.

It is not clear how the Rwandan troops will operate alongside the Congolese and French troops given the historical and ideological differences that exist between DRC, France and Rwanda but Ms Mushikiwabo said that the Rwandans will be more concerned with the “mission at hand” than about who is in CAR or not.

Working together

“The forces will be capable of working together under the AU mission.

There are there to settle a problem at hand. For Rwanda, we are ready to work with whoever we find on the ground,” Mushikiwabo said.

Rwanda has cashed in on UN-AU peacekeeping missions across the globe, deploying troops in different parts of the world from Darfur to South Sudan to Haiti and now the Central African Republic.

Rwanda has about 3,200 troops in the troubled Sudan region of Darfur who are part of the hybrid UN-AU mission Unamid.

Despite restoring relative peace, the force has not fully led to the return of peace as marauding militias continue to pose a major threat to innocent civilians.

Rwanda also has over 850 officers and an aviation unit of 119 personnel under the UN Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss). An extra 41 officers departed on Friday last week.
Seeing off the officers, Deputy Inspector General of Police Dan Munyuza urged the officers to be “good ambassadors for the country.”

Advertisement