IN SUMMARY

  • Rwandans in Goma were targeted by Congolese citizens following the murder of Col Mamadou Ndala, a celebrated military commander who was behind major operations to defeat M23 rebels.
  • Col Ndala

The murder of a top Congolese military officer in an ambush in Beni, North Kivu, last week caused chaos in the neighbouring border towns of Goma and Rubavu.

Rwandans in Goma were targeted by Congolese citizens following the murder of Col Mamadou Ndala, a celebrated military commander who was behind major operations to defeat M23 rebels.

Several Congolese activists took to social networks to heap blame on Kigali for plotting the ambush, even though neither governments has officially spoken about it.

Life in the towns has been largely affected since the M23 emerged in 2012, with many Rwandans who do business or have relatives in Goma targeted by Congolese mobs.

According to reports, the January 2 killing of Col Ndala riled residents of Goma. Etienne Havugimana, a trader who operates in the two towns, told local media that immediately after the news came in, anyone suspected to be Rwandan in Goma was attacked by marauding mobs of Congolese youth.

Displaying a gash on his head, Mr Havugimana narrated his ordeal before he fled into Rwanda.

Rwandans assaulted

“They were angry and chanting ‘Rwanda has killed our hero.’ They came for me, I managed to run between them but one hit me on the head,” he said after crossing back at Petit Barrier.

He said that his fellow traders were also manhandled while on the streets Congolese youth verbally assaulted suspected Rwandans.

Rwandan immigration authorities warned Rwandans to be cautious or postpone their travels inside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to the Kinshasa-based government spokesperson Lambert Mende, Col Ndala was ambushed as he travelled in North Kivu where he was carrying out operations against the Ugandan ADF-NALU rebels