The Congolese police announced on Thursday June 22 that they had arrested young people "
carrying machetes
" who wanted to attack Rwandophones present in Kinshasa under the pretext of complicity with the M23 rebels supported, according to Kinshasa, by Rwanda.
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“
These are individuals who had tried to disturb public order and stigmatize other people living in Kinshasa.
The police arrested them so that justice takes care of their case
,” General Sylvano Kasongo, Kinshasa police chief, told AFP.
Last Saturday, a video shared on social networks created a stir.
We saw young people there "
carrying out vehicle checks in order to attempt (the life) of peaceful people with Nilotic faces
", Major Alpha Landu, spokesman for the Kinshasa police, told the press.
These young people, "
without titles or quality, carrying machetes, were dressed in outfits resembling those of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo
“explained the officer.
"The Hunt" for Rwandophones
Among the seven people presented, there is also a man known as a crowd haranguer of the presidential party Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), arrested for "
incitement to tribal hatred
", said Major Landu.
In another video, he is seen citing the names and addresses of those targeted.
A week ago, the authorities announced their decision to combat
the “hunt
” for Rwandophones (people speaking Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda) during the demonstrations organized for several weeks against Rwanda and the M23.
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A Tutsi-dominated rebellion defeated in 2013 by Kinshasa in eastern DRC, the M23 ("
March 23 Movement
") took up arms again at the end of 2021, accusing the Congolese authorities of not having respected an agreement for the demobilization and the reintegration of its combatants.
Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting these rebels, which Kigali denies.
Relations between the DRC and Rwanda have been strained since the massive arrival in eastern DRC of Rwandan Hutus accused of having massacred Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.