FDLR member defects with weapons

Philip Musabyimana, a staff sergeant in rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia has deserted the group and repatriated back to Rwanda with his weapons. The 38 year old, returned Friday with a support weapon commonly known as the Katyusha one barrel (107 Millimetre gun) and an AK-47. “I have been in FDLR since 1998 and I have decided to voluntarily return home because the rebel outfit has no purpose in fighting the government,” said Musabyimana. He added that his willingness to return to Rwanda was due to the communication he had with his fellow ex-combatants who had returned earlier and his relatives. “I kept receiving messages from my former colleagues who defected to Rwanda and my family who assured me that Rwanda was peaceful and the government wanted us to return voluntarily,” he added. Musabyimana who was a section head in FDLR, was also manning and operating the Katyusha, among other duties. He also attacked his former leaders in the forests of DRC for spreading misleading propaganda, among the low ranking officers about the government of Rwanda. The former rebel who was received into the country by Rwanda Defence Force said that he had long held the idea of returning home though it was not easy owing to the fact that once caught trying desert, one is killed. “It was not easy to come given the fact that I had to carry two big weapons with me but since I had made up my mind, I had to make whatever sacrifice I could,” added Musabyimana. The senior sergeant whose area of operation was Kiwanja in Nyamurangira, returned to Rwanda with his wife and two children and he says that given the opportunity he would wish to continue his military career in the RDF. According to Musabyimana, the 107MM gun can launch an attack in a maximum range of 8 kilometres and it was the same weapon that they used to launch attacks on Gisenyi between 2003-2008 during the FDLR insurgency. “People in FDLR should return to Rwanda and join hands with the rest of the Rwandans to develop the country,” he said. The FDLR group mainly comprises elements responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Ends