FOUR Rwandan men are reportedly under captivity in the Congolese border town of Goma, officials said yesterday, the latest in an upsurge of such incidents.According to Rwanda migration officials, the four nationals, who have been missing for two weeks, were to be handed over to Rwanda. “We are still waiting to see if they will be handed over as they (DRC authorities) had promised,” Alphonse Munyurangabo, an official from the Immigration and Emigration Department, told The New Times.By press time, yesterday, the Rwandans were yet to be set free and handed over to Rwandan immigration authorities.Munyurangabo was not able to divulge more details about their current state; however, sources at the border told The New Times that the men were brutally tortured at the hands of Congolese authorities.The source added that the captives were five when they were seized by the DRC officials, and now that only four are expected. There are fears that one of them died as a result of the torture.Last month DRC officials “dumped” 11 young Rwandans along the common border of Rubavu after beating and torturing them.Following the tensions, at least 70 Rwandan students were evacuated from Goma fleeing from what they called “targeted attacks”.The students said they were escaping mounting bigotry against Rwandans and other Kinyarwanda speaking communities in the Congo.Rwandans abroad, especially in Belgium, have also been attacked by Congolese Diaspora, in recent weeks.Efforts to get a comment DRC officials were fruitless.Resentment towards Rwandans in DRC has worsened following the release of a provisional UN Group Experts report last month, alleging that Rwanda is supporting the M23 rebels.The report’s credibility has been questioned after it emerged that the evidence linking Rwanda to the DRC crisis was fabricated.
