President Paul Kagame has said that Congolese rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda has legitimate political grievances against the DRC government.

Addressing a monthly press conference today at Village Urugwiro, Kagame said Nkunda was protecting a section of Congolese from being exterminated by among others Rwandan militias holed up in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He said he was strongly opposed to those likening Nkunda to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), saying that the latter was composed of extremists that are responsible for the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.

"Some people in Congo are trying to elevate FDLR by putting them in the same category as Nkunda.

I don’t think Nkunda, whatever mistakes he could be held accountable for, should be put in the same category as FDLR.

He has some political grievances which are legitimate,” Kagame said.

However, the President said his government was not in any way supporting Nkunda as some media reports have recently claimed.

Details of this story later