RWANDA EXPELS NKUNDA LOYALISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 001432 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL CG RW SUBJECT: RWANDA EXPELS NKUNDA LOYALISTS Classified By: PolCouns MSanderson, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (U) Congolese press and Radio Okapi reported September 7 that the GOR had expelled 10 former Congolese soldiers who had fled to Rwanda with General Nkunda following last year's attack on Bukavu. The press reported that the 10 were sent to Goma, where they are currently under arrest. ¶2. (C) North Kivu Governor Eugene Serufuli confirmed to PolCouns that, indeed, 10 individuals had been brought to the Rwandan border over the weekend and handed over to local authorities. He said that a special joint commission, composed of military and civilian intelligence officers, has been established to gather evidence against the 10, which will be used ultimately in a military trial (probably in North Kivu, as the 10 deserted their posts in the province). Serufuli said that he hopes that the trials will take place within the next couple of months. PolCouns asked about the status of efforts to capture Nkunda himself, who likely is somewhere in North Kivu, and Serufuli said that a coordinated effort between MONUC and Congolese authorities is being orchestrated. ¶3. (C) Comment: The expulsion of these 10 individuals seems to add credence to what PolCouns had been told by some RCD officials in Kinshasa, namely that Nkunda himself had fled Rwanda because he got wind of the decision by the GOR to arrest and expel him. His return -- and subsequent press conference -- has caused a shock wave of insecurity and political recriminations. If the Congolese, whether Serufuli or others, can capture Nkunda it will go a long way in calming current tensions, particularly between the RCD and the PPRD. MEECE