Imams reportedly kidnapped by rebels associated with Hutu-led Democratic Forces for Liberation of Rwanda

Six Tanzanian Muslim imams have been kidnapped by suspected Rwandan rebels in Katwiguru, located in the Demoratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s eastern region, Al-Hadji Hashim Musa, head of North Kivu’s Islamic community, has told Anadolu Agency.

After preaching in certain localities in North Kivu (also located in eastern DRC), the imams set out from Rutshuru to Katwiguru on August 2, Musa said.

According to Musa, the group was abducted – along with their Congolese driver – by rebels associated with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Musa said the kidnappers had contacted the offices of the Islamic Community in Goma, a city in eastern DRC, and demanded a $40,000 ransom for the imams’ release.

“We have informed government security agencies of the abductions,” Musa said.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Thomas d’Aquin Mwithi, a leading civil society figure in North Kivu, condemned the reported abductions and called on the authorities to secure the imams’ release.

Kidnappings have become commonplace in Rutshuru. In April, FDLR militants reportedly abducted three UN workers in the region before releasing them shortly afterward.

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.

FDLR commander Sylvestre Mudacumura is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes allegedly committed in the eastern DRC’s North and South Kivu regions in 2009 and 2010.