Rwandan rebel group kills 2 Congolese soldiers

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo

Rebels of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) have killed three people including two soldiers in northeastern DRC, a military source said Monday.

The FDLR rebels attacked the town of Kitshanga, North Kivu province early Monday morning, Maj. Guillaume Njike, army spokesman in the province said.

He added that the three people including one civilian were killed following fierce fighting between the FDLR rebels and Congolese armed forces.

Last Tuesday, militiamen killed two soldiers and their taxi driver in North Kivu province.

Established in 2000, the FDLR – composed almost entirely of ethnic Hutus – is the main rebel group fighting Rwanda's current Tutsi-led regime. It is reportedly based in the DRC's eastern region.

Leaders of the group are accused of being among the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

They are also accused by both the UN and DRC authorities of committing abuses against the Congolese civilian population in several localities of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, bordering Rwanda.

Eastern DRC has been wracked by violence for the past two decades, much of it fueled by Rwandan rebels as well as fighters opposed to Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni.