Thousands of Rwandan troops have crossed into the remote forested hills of east Congo, a Western diplomat said Monday, in an account supported by park rangers and local chiefs near the border of the two neighbors and wartime enemies. Congo announced it would send up to 10,000 reinforcements to "contain the Rwandan aggression."
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, speaking at the swearing-in of a senator, repeated his persistent complaints that the United Nations and Congolese forces have not done enough to disarm Hutu rebels, referred to as Ex-FAR and Interahamwe.
``Anytime the United Nations ignores or fails to deal with the problem of Ex-Far/Interahamwe, we shall do it ourselves, and this will not take long, or, we might even be doing it now,'' Kagame said.The reports of the launch of a Rwandan incursion come just days after Rwanda threatened to do just that -- send in its own forces to hunt down Rwandan Hutu rebels in east Congo, on the grounds that a 5-month-old UN-led disarmament campaign there had failed to act aggressively enough.
In Kinshasa, Congo's capital, President Joseph Kabila told international diplomats on Monday morning that he would send two or three brigades to North Kivu, bordering Rwanda, within two weeks, presidential spokesman Kudura Kasango said.
Kabila said deployment was ordered to "assure the security of the civilian population and to contain the Rwandan aggression," Kasango said.
The Western diplomat, citing his embassy's own sources, said "it is certain" that thousands of Rwandan forces had crossed into Congolese territory north of the main eastern city, Goma, since Friday.
The diplomat, speaking on condition he not be identified further, cited what he said were accounts to his embassy from its workers, from aid groups, and from others.
No clashes between Congolese and Rwandan forces had been reported, he said.
Contacted by telephone, a ranger at Virunga national park bordering Rwanda and Congo told the reporters that he had seen about 400 armed Rwanda troops cross into the park on Sunday.
The troops were well-armed and traveled in a sport utility vehicle and on foot, the ranger said on condition of anonymity, adding they appeared to be headed north, to remote volcanic mountains north of Goma.
The area is believed to hold some of the estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Rwandan Hutu rebels still in Congo.
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Packed crowds in India celebrating their cricket team’s victory ended in a deadly stampede on Wednesday, with 11 mainly young fans crushed to death, the local state’s chief minister said. Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after they beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket final on Tuesday night. However, the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra calling it “absolutely heartrending.” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the deceased are young, with 11 dead
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
RSS