DRC: Rwanda is Accused of Human Rights Violations in North Kivu
Legal Team of the East Africa Court of Justice, Sept 26, 2024 Photo: @EACJCourt
September 26, 2024 Hour: 8:17 pm
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accused the Rwandan government on Thursday of perpetrating “serious human rights violations in the North Kivu region” (eastern DRC), on the first day of a case initiated by Kinshasa at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).
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The court in Arusha, Tanzania, began hearing claims arising from the case filed by the Congolese government against Rwandan for alleged conflicts in North Kivu, as reported on its social media.
In this and other Congolese provinces, the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) are facing numerous armed groups, including the powerful March 23 Movement (M23), linked to Rwanda.
“The DRC accuses Rwanda of acts of aggression that allegedly violate its sovereignty, territorial integrity, political stability and independence,” added the EACJ in its statement.
On Thursday, the organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced repeated and indiscriminate shelling of displaced camps in northeastern DRC by the Rwandan army and the rebel M23.
He also accused the FARDC and its allied militias, renamed ‘wazalendo’ (‘patriots’ in Swahili), of having put the population at risk by deploying artillery around these settlements, located on the outskirts of the city of Goma, Capital of North Kivu.
