Congolese refugees protest over Tutsi genocide in DRC
Congolese refugees in the Kiziba camp in Karongi and the Nkamira camp in Rubavu have moved to protest against the genocide being perpetrated against the Tutsis in North and South Kivu and elsewhere in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It is a protest that took place on Monday, March 4, 2024, and was made by different groups, including children, teenagers and young adults, old people, and the elderly.
The refugees from the Kiziba camp turned in a peaceful protest around the whole camp and first took a minute to remember the Tutsis who fell in the massacre in DR Congo.
The are asking the international community to protect their relatives in North Kivu and other parts of DRC who are being targeted because they are of Tutsi origin. They are also calling for full restoration of peace for them to return home.
These refugees repeated their words to condemn the RDC administration, which does nothing to stop the genocide, and the foreign countries that help the regime in their actions.
They also carried many placards with words condemning the genocide, saying, “Congolese refugees, we condemn the genocide that is being carried out by the DRC government, which is being done to the Tutsis of North Kivu, the Banyamulenge of South Kivu and the Hemas of Ituri.”
Amid blame games, Congolese refugees say more of the people especially in areas controlled by the government and armed groups continue to be killed in their numbers.
The Kiziba camp contains more than 14 thousand Congolese refugees, who have been there for 28 years.
In the Rubavu District, the Congolese refugees housed in the Nkamira Temporary Camp also turned out to protest against their DRC government, which is committing genocide against its Rwandan-speaking Tutsi population.
Their request is based on calling on the international organisations to ask the government to stop the genocide, return to their country, and disarm the armed groups, including the FDLR.
While fighting continues in the Eastern DRC, Rwanda has already received more than 13 thousand refugees from this country in the last two years.
Those refugees, mainly from North Kivu, started fleeing to Rwanda at the beginning of 2022, when the fighting between the M23 group and the Congolese army, FARDC, escalated.
Statistics show that until January 2024, Rwanda had received 13,797 refugees.
Rwanda currently hosts more than 80 thousand Congolese refugees, most of whom have lived there for over 28 years.
THE RWANDA SUN
