The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda was the primary anti-Rwanda rebel group during the latter part of the Second Congo War. It operated almost entirely in the eastern section of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is composed almost entirely of Hutu ethnics opposed to Tutsi rule and influence in the region. The group is often referred to as the FDLR after its original French name: the Forces Démocratiques de la Libération du Rwanda.

The FDLR was formed in 2000 after the Kinshasa-based Hutu command and the Kivu-based Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALiR) agreed to merge. It counts among its number the original members of the Interahamwe that carried out the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. It received extensive backing from, and cooperation from, the government of Congolese President Joseph Kabila, who used the FDLR as a proxy force against the foreign armies operating in the country, in particular the Rwandan Patriotic Army and Rwanda-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy. In July 2002, FDLR units still in Kinshasa-held territory moved into North and South Kivu. At this time it was thought to have between 15,000 and 20,000 members. Even after the official end of of the Second Congo War in 2002, FDLR units continued to attack Tutsi forces both in eastern DRC and across the border into Rwanda, vastly increasing tensions in the region and raising the possibility of another Rwandan offensive into the DRC - what would be their third since 1996. In mid 2004, a number of attacks forced 25,000 Congolese to flee their homes.

Following several days of talks with Congolese government representatives, the FDLR announced on 31 March 2005 that they were abandoning their armed struggle and returning to Rwanda as a political party. The talks were held in Rome, Italy and were mediated by Sant'Egidio . The Rwandan government stated that any returning genocidaires would face justice, most probably through the gacaca court system. If all of the FDLR commanders, who are believed to control about 10,000 militants, do disarm and return, a key source of cross-border tensions would be removed.

External links

• FDLR at GlobalSecurity.org
• Rwandan Hutus end armed struggle, BBC, 31 March 2005