On
Congo, ICP
Asks How Many
Rwandan Troops
UN Knew Of,
350 Is Answer
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 4 --
Over the
weekend,
Congolese
Communications
Minister
Lambert Mende
was quoted by
Agence France
Presse that
only
100 Rwanda
Special Forces
troops had
been
authorized to
be in the
DRC. So, Mende
said, that
over 300 left
should be
viewed as
proof of
Rwandan
support for
the M23.
At
the UN on
September 4,
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
how much
Rwandan troops
the UN
Mission
MONUSCO had
been told were
in the DRC,
100 or 357?
From
the UN's
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
over the
weekend, there
were some
Rwandan
special forces
that were
removed from
eastern
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo,
where MONUSCO
[United
Nations
Organization
Stabilization
Mission in
the Democratic
Republic of
Congo] is. And
there is now a
dispute
about the
numbers. This
was a Rwandan
special forces
contingent
that
was supposed
to fight the
FDLR
[Democratic
Forces for the
Liberation
of Rwanda] or
observe the
FDLR along
with the
Congolese. The
Congolese are
now saying
that there
were only a
hundred
authorized,
and that
anything
beyond that
were people
helping M23.
[Others] are
saying, 'no,
the UN knew"
... the UN and
MONUSCO knew
the size
of the Rwandan
forces was 357
troops. So I’m
wondering,
since this
goes directly
to the dispute
between States
and could put
it to rest.
Can you find
out what was
MONUSCO’s
knowledge
of the size of
the force?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Sure.
Four
hours later
the following
was sent to
Inner City
Press:
Subject:
Your
question on
the DRC
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at]
un.org
Date: Tue, Sep
4, 2012 at
4:17 PM
To: Matthew
Russell
Lee [at]
innercitypress.com
Regarding
your
question on
the
information
MONUSCO
received about
Rwandan
Defense Force
elements, we
have been told
that MONUSCO
was informed
by the FARDC
that there
were around
350 RDF
elements.
This
is the
response of
the UN
Secretariat,
seemingly on
behalf of the
Department of
Peacekeeping
Affairs whose
Herve
Ladsous has
explicitly
said he will
not answer
Inner City
Press
questions. The
time frame
and the
sourcing are
in question.
Inner City
Press asked
what WAS the
knowledge of
MONUSCO; the
response is
350, but
sources to the
FARDC.
Still at the
UN on Tuesday,
Security
Council
members
whispered off
the record
that Rwanda,
which is about
to join the
Council in
January, must
change its
policies. Last
week, amid
questioning of
the UN's
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo
sanctions
Group of
Experts and
its
coordinator
Steve Hege,
Rwanda's
Foreign
Minister
Louise
Mushikiwabo
said that Hege
and his report
are
"ideologically
bankrupt." Video here. Watch
this site.
, 
