Congolese rebel group AFC/M23 says Rwanda has a right to support its cause in pacifying eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to secure its borders and keep the genocidal Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) away.

M23 political leader Bertrand Bisimwa said their cooperation with Kigali is not about political or military support but about security because of armed groups, especially the FDLR, which killed people in Rwanda and escaped into Congo, from where they plan attacks against Congolese civilians of Rwandan descent and cross-border attacks against Rwandans.

“I admit Rwanda supports us. Why? Because we are neighbours. At the border, you will find many Congolese crossing into Rwanda and Rwandans crossing into Congo to do business,” he told journalists in Goma on Monday.

“There are certain issues that crop up between neighbours that require cooperation. Our cooperation is because of armed groups, especially FDLR, who killed people in Rwanda and escaped into our country and started killing our people too.

“Today, if you look at our towns, people have fled villages into towns because of threats by the FDLR. They even took over mines and started trading in minerals and used the proceeds to buy arms and recruit even children to continue perpetrating the genocide ideology. Now, this meant that we arm ourselves to protect ourselves and forestall any decision by Rwanda to come into Congo to deal with the threat.”

He accused the Kinshasa government of supporting armed groups against Congolese civilians as well as neighbouring countries.

“We said this problem could cause friction with Rwanda and, if the Rwandan military comes into our region, it’s civilians who will bear the brunt of the confrontations. So, we organised ourselves to secure our region and rout the armed militia so that the Rwandan military does not find an excuse to cross over. And this issue was supposed to be dealt with by the government in Kinshasa, yet when we do it, we are vilified,” the rebel leader said. He said, besides fighting FDLR, the border communities must collaborate economically, socially, and culturally.

“Having relations with Rwanda doesn’t mean that they support our army or our politics -- it’s just country-to-country relations, even though we are not a country per se, but we bear the responsibility of securing the Congolese territory bordering Rwanda. If we had not shown them that we have dealt with their concerns, they’d have closed the border and we, the Congolese, would suffer,” Mr Bisimwa said.

He said AFC/M23 wants partners in the East African Community to be able to work and invest in the region without security concerns. Read:

‘We are pro-peace, not pro-any side’: How Kenya sees the region Bisimwa’s concession comes a few days after Rwandan President Paul Kagame vaguely admitted that his government troops were inside Congo. At the 20th Umushyikirano meeting on February 5, the

Rwandan leader defended his “defensive positions.” in eastern DRC as necessary to ensure the security of his country.

“The problem didn’t start in Rwanda -- we didn’t cause it. Yes, we have a problem with Congo, and it pertains to the Interahamwe, their presence in the country, and their genocide ideology. They keep saying, ‘We want to finish what we started.’ Some were in the old militia, and others have been recruited, trained, and armed. When we are talking about this problem, one of the main questions we have faced is that some of them are old, 90 years old, but they have children in whose heads they instil genocide ideology,” he said.

Interahamwe is a Hutu militia blamed for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. After their defeat, remnants of the group escaped into eastern Congo, from where they announced a bid to topple the government in Kigali.

Rwanda has continually rejected accusations of backing the AFC/M23 in its offensive against the government forces in eastern DRC, with the United Nations Security Council in December demanding that Kigali stop supporting the rebels and withdraw its troops.

UN demands Rwanda leave Congo, extends peacekeeping mission Rwanda has always denied a role in the conflict, noting that the M23 fighters are bona fide Congolese fighting their own government over unresolved historical grievances.

The UN Security Council has also acknowledged the FDLR threat to the Rwandan security and also demanded that Congolese troops stop supporting them and that the DRC fulfil its commitment to "neutralise the group."