Rwandan troops cross into Congo, claims diplomat

Rwanda has sent thousands of troops into Congo in recent days, a Western diplomat said today.

He said, in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, that the troops have been seen crossing the border since Friday.

He said there was no doubt about the incursion, but added there had been no clashes with Congolese forces.

Jacqueline Chenard, a spokeswoman for UN forces in east Congo, said helicopter missions and other patrols had found no evidence of any Rwandan presence.

“To our knowledge, there’s no Rwandan presence,” Chenard said in Goma, the largest city of Congo’s east, near the Rwandan border. “It’s a rumour.”

Rwanda last week warned it might act soon act to force disarmament of Rwanda Hutu rebels sheltering across the border in east Congo, complaining a UN-led disarmament programme there was not effective.

A ranger at Virunga national park bordering Rwanda and Congo said he had seen about 400 armed Rwanda troops cross into the park from Rwanda on Sunday.

The troops were in a 4X4 vehicle and on foot, and had very sophisticated weapons, the ranger said.

The ranger said the alleged Rwandans were headed north, to remote volcanic mountains north of Goma.

In Goma, local chiefs also said their people had also reported seeing Rwanda troops in isolated hills since Friday.