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Death of warlord in DR Congo 'good news' for region: Rwanda minister

Wednesday September 18 2019
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Amb Olivier Nduhungirehe. He has been dropped from cabinet as the country's minister of State in charge of the East African Community. PHOTO | RWANDA MFA

By AFP

Kigali on Wednesday welcomed the killing of a Rwandan Hutu rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and said it proved neighbouring President Felix Tshisekedi's commitment to fighting "negative forces".

Sylvestre Mudacumura, commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), who was wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crime charges, was shot dead Tuesday night.

"The death of Sylvestre Mudacumura is good news for peace and security in the region," state minister for regional affairs Olivier Nduhungirehe told AFP.

"With his genocide group, the FDLR, he was destabilising DRC, killing Congolese and Rwandans."

The FDLR was created by Rwandan Hutu refugees in eastern DRC after the genocide against the Tutsis by majority Hutus in neighbouring Rwanda in 1994.

The group is regularly accused of committing atrocities against civilians in the zones it controls.

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"His death confirms the commitment of President Felix Tshisekedi in fighting negative forces and will open a new era of good and peaceful cooperation between DRC and countries in the region," said Nduhungirehe.

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