Exclusive: Rwanda exercises command and control over M23 rebels, say UN experts

New York. Rwanda has exercised command and control over M23 rebels during their advance in eastern Congo, gaining political influence and access to mineral-rich territory, according to a confidential report by a group of United Nations experts.

The report obtained by Reuters details training which the experts say Rwanda has provided to M23 recruits and military equipment they say Rwanda has deployed - notably "high-tech systems capable of neutralizing air assets" - to give the rebels "a decisive tactical advantage" over Congo's beleaguered army.

The report was submitted to the U.N. Security Council sanctions committee for Congo in early May and is due to be published shortly, said diplomats.

M23 has advanced in eastern Congo, seizing the region's two largest cities, Goma and Bukavu, in January and February. Congo, the United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms.

Rwanda has long denied helping M23 and says its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

The report by the U.N. experts said Rwanda's military support for M23 was not "primarily" aimed at addressing threats posed by the FDLR, asserting that Kigali was instead focused on "conquering additional territories".

Yolande Makolo, Rwanda government spokesperson, told Reuters on Wednesday the report "misrepresents Rwanda's longstanding security concerns related to the persistent threat of the FDLR and its affiliated groups, which necessitates the defence posture in our border areas."

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is trying to broker a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo that would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.

On Friday the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers signed a peace deal in Washington and met with Trump, who warned of "very severe penalties, financial and otherwise" if the deal is violated. Qatar is hosting a parallel mediation effort with delegations from the Congolese government and M23.

But in Democratic Republic of Congo, where violence has escalated since the start of the year, thousands are going without.

Makolo said Rwanda was committed to implementing the deal signed in Washington, including neutralising the FDLR "which will enable the lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures."

The U.N. report said Rwanda has hosted leaders of a rebel coalition that includes M23 at its Gabiro Training Centre and also used military centres in Nasho and Gako to train M23 recruits.

Rwanda also "drastically increased" the number of Rwandan troops in eastern Congo ahead of M23's advance, according to the experts, who offered "a conservative estimate of 6,000" Rwandan troops active in Congo's North and South Kivu provinces.

The U.N. experts also accused Rwanda of "flagrant and systematic violations" of an arms embargo, and said a likely missile attack in January on an armoured personnel carrier carrying U.N. peacekeepers - killing one and injuring four others - appeared to have been fired from a Rwandan military position.

An estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Rwandan troops were still active in M23-held territory when the report was drafted, and "several thousand" remained along the border ready to deploy, said the report, which covers investigations conducted up to April 20.

Push for peace

M23's military gains earlier this year spurred fears of a wider regional war drawing in Congo's neighbours, and also fuelled anxiety over the fate of President Felix Tshisekedi's government.

In March M23 travelled as far west as Walikale, an area rich in minerals including tin, putting the rebels within 400 km of Kisangani, Congo's fourth-biggest city.

The following month, however, M23 withdrew from Walikale, a decision the experts said was "taken following direct instruction from the Government of Rwanda, once again confirming Rwanda's command and control" over rebel operations.

"This included strategic-level decision-making on whether to seize, hold, or relinquish territory, thereby demonstrating overall operational coordination and hierarchical subordination," the report said.

The experts also accused Congo of relying on the FDLR and pro-government militia fighters known as Wazalendo, offering them money and logistics in violation of a sanctions regime.

A Congo government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.