Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KIGALI20
2009-01-15 10:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kigali
Cable title:
MILITARY PROSECUTOR IDENTIFIES THOSE BEHIND RECENT
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHLGB #0020 0151023 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 151023Z JAN 09 FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5832 INFO RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0376 RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0475 RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 1289 RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2065 RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0617 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0389 RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1397 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0652 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0191
C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000020
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS ASEC RW
SUBJECT: MILITARY PROSECUTOR IDENTIFIES THOSE BEHIND RECENT
GRENADE ATTACKS
REF: A. 08 KIGALI 874
B. 08 KIGALI 393
C. 07 KIGALI 152
Classified By: Ambassador Symington for Reasons 1.4 (b) (d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000020
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS ASEC RW
SUBJECT: MILITARY PROSECUTOR IDENTIFIES THOSE BEHIND RECENT
GRENADE ATTACKS
REF: A. 08 KIGALI 874
B. 08 KIGALI 393
C. 07 KIGALI 152
Classified By: Ambassador Symington for Reasons 1.4 (b) (d)
1. (C) Pol/Econ chief met with the chief military
prosecutor on January 13 to discuss arrests made in
connection with the December 27 grenade attacks in Kigali
(ref A). The prosecutor said 18 individuals had been
detained in the course of investigations, fifteen civilians
and 3 low-ranking enlisted men of the Rwanda Defense Forces
(RDF). Several of the civilians were allegedly members of
the FDLR who had entered from the Congo, but most of those
arrested, including the three soldiers, were local FDLR
sympathizers. One of the FDLR cadres had made several trips
to the Congo to secure grenades, which he distributed among
the group. According to the prosecutor,the members planned
simultaneous explosions in several towns in Rwanda. Arrests
had begun in early December, when one member of the group
turned himself in. Two men who are still at large are
suspected of tossing the two grenades on December 27. Twenty
five grenades had been recovered, he said, and the two men
at large presumably had more. The 18 men are charged with an
attack on the national security of the nation ("atteinte a la
surete de l'Etat") an offense which carries a potential life
sentence.
2. (C) The prosecutor dismissed an account of the case by
local newspaper Umuseso, which focused on the arrest of the
three military personnel, and suggested senior officers would
be arrested next. Aside from the two civilians still sought,
no more arrests were expected, he said. The case was being
tried in the military high court (Rwandan law provides for
civilians to be tried in military courts if linked with
military personnel),with the civilian Supreme Court as the
court of appeal. Indeed, he said, defense attorneys has
already appealed a detention order to the Supreme Court, with
a decision due soon.
3. (C) Comment. As Rwandan officials have told us for some
time (refs B, C),the FDLR regularly sends cadres into
Rwanda, for recruitment, for reconnaissance, and more rarely,
to attempt operations. The presence of organized formations
of FDLR troops near Rwanda's borders is more than a
theoretical threat to Rwanda's security. The December 27
grenade attack could well have been a test run for other
similar attacks, particularly if Rwanda and the DRC undertake
their joint operational plan to root out the FDLR from
eastern Congo once and for all. End comment.
SYMINGTON
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS ASEC RW
SUBJECT: MILITARY PROSECUTOR IDENTIFIES THOSE BEHIND RECENT
GRENADE ATTACKS
REF: A. 08 KIGALI 874
B. 08 KIGALI 393
C. 07 KIGALI 152
Classified By: Ambassador Symington for Reasons 1.4 (b) (d)
1. (C) Pol/Econ chief met with the chief military
prosecutor on January 13 to discuss arrests made in
connection with the December 27 grenade attacks in Kigali
(ref A). The prosecutor said 18 individuals had been
detained in the course of investigations, fifteen civilians
and 3 low-ranking enlisted men of the Rwanda Defense Forces
(RDF). Several of the civilians were allegedly members of
the FDLR who had entered from the Congo, but most of those
arrested, including the three soldiers, were local FDLR
sympathizers. One of the FDLR cadres had made several trips
to the Congo to secure grenades, which he distributed among
the group. According to the prosecutor,the members planned
simultaneous explosions in several towns in Rwanda. Arrests
had begun in early December, when one member of the group
turned himself in. Two men who are still at large are
suspected of tossing the two grenades on December 27. Twenty
five grenades had been recovered, he said, and the two men
at large presumably had more. The 18 men are charged with an
attack on the national security of the nation ("atteinte a la
surete de l'Etat") an offense which carries a potential life
sentence.
2. (C) The prosecutor dismissed an account of the case by
local newspaper Umuseso, which focused on the arrest of the
three military personnel, and suggested senior officers would
be arrested next. Aside from the two civilians still sought,
no more arrests were expected, he said. The case was being
tried in the military high court (Rwandan law provides for
civilians to be tried in military courts if linked with
military personnel),with the civilian Supreme Court as the
court of appeal. Indeed, he said, defense attorneys has
already appealed a detention order to the Supreme Court, with
a decision due soon.
3. (C) Comment. As Rwandan officials have told us for some
time (refs B, C),the FDLR regularly sends cadres into
Rwanda, for recruitment, for reconnaissance, and more rarely,
to attempt operations. The presence of organized formations
of FDLR troops near Rwanda's borders is more than a
theoretical threat to Rwanda's security. The December 27
grenade attack could well have been a test run for other
similar attacks, particularly if Rwanda and the DRC undertake
their joint operational plan to root out the FDLR from
eastern Congo once and for all. End comment.
SYMINGTON