Hutu rebel leader surrenders
2003-11-15 16:44
Kigali, Rwanda - The head of Rwandan rebels based in neighbouring Congo has returned home and surrendered to the army that he fought for the past nine years, officials said Saturday.
Gen. Paul Rwarakabije crossed into Rwanda on Friday with about 150 of his fighters who laid down their weapons in Cyangugu, a southwestern town bordering volatile eastern Congo.
The surrender follows secret negotiations between the Rwandan army and the leader of the rebels who include members of the former Rwandan army, or FAR and the Interahamwe militia who fled into Congo after playing a key role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in which more than 500 000 people, mainly minority Tutsis, were killed.
As commander of two factions of Rwandan rebels known as the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda, or ALIR, Rwarakabiye led the insurgency against the Rwandan government from Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, and Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congolese.
His troops fought alongside Congolese government forces who have spent the past five years battling Congolese rebels backed by the Rwandan government.
- AP