A senior commander within the ranks of the militia group FLN, "Colonel” Marc Nizeyimana, has distanced himself from the various terror attacks the group launched on Rwandan territory in which scores of civilians were killed.

The attacks took place between 2018 and 2019 after militia operatives penetrated into Rwanda and attacked parts of the southwestern region of the country.

Nizeyimana made the comments on Thursday, April 29 as he was presenting his defence before court, during a trial where he, along with 20 others are being prosecuted in connection with terror attacks that the FLN group carried out against citizens of Rwanda in Nyamagabe, Rusizi and Nyaruguru districts.

FLN is a militia group affiliated with MRCD, a coalition of political groupings whose founder was Paul Rusesabagina, who is also part of the group on trial.

During the attacks, at least nine unarmed civilians lost their lives.

The first major attack was carried out in Nyabimata, Nyaruguru district, which left two dead, while a third victim succumbed to gunshot wounds later, and at least two others sustained injuries.

The second attack targeted public transport with the assailants ambushing at least three buses on Kigali-Rusizi road, killing at least six passengers in Nyungwe forest, at Kitabi, Nyamagabe district, just a few days before Christmas in 2018.

Nizeyimana was a sector commander and he has admitted to having himself handpicked the fighters who made the incursions into the country from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In connection with the attacks, Nizeyimana faces nine counts, including joining an illegal armed group, being part of a terror group, committing battery as an act of terror, being an accessory to murder as an act of terror, armed robbery as an act of terror, arson as an act of terror, among others.

According to prosecution, Nizeyimana was a deputy commander of one of the two sectors that make up the FLN, and by using his position, he played part in planning the attacks on Rwanda and assisting the fighters to cross into Rwanda.

He does not deny this.

However, in his defence, Nizeyimana said that he can only plead guilty to a single charge of joining an illegal armed group.

"I admit that I was part of illegal armed group. I don't deny this. But I don't accept the charges of being part of a terror group, because I never took part in any terror activity,” said Nizeyimana, who was flanked by his lawyer.

"I know what terrorism means, and I could not take a risk to commit terror, or associate myself with it. In our fighting endeavours, our activities were aimed at returning to Rwanda, not committing terror,” he added.

He however admitted the fact that FLN fighters entered Rwanda and perpetrated "horrible acts” against the citizens, but he denied having played any role since the plan was not revealed to him, and thus he did not consent to it.

"The reason why I say that I had no role in the attacks is that there were no consultations held with us to ask everyone if we consent to what was going to be done,” he said.

"I didn’t know when the orders for the attacks were given, and I don’t know how these things unfolded,” he added.

When the judges asked him to respond to prosecution’s claim that on one of the occasions he was responsible for selecting the ablest fighters who would cross over to Rwanda to carry out attacks, Nzeyimana said he was asked by the FLN leadership to do "a screening” of that particular group of fighters, to reduce them to 100, and that is what he did.

"I did not give them (the fighters) any orders,” he said.

He was the second member of the group to present his defence, the first one having been Herman Nsengimana, who was the FLN spokesperson until his capture in late 2019.

Nsengimana in his defence said that his job was to read statements given to him by the top leadership of the militia group.

The trial is set to continue on May 8 and 9, with the accused continuing to submit their defence.