It is estimated that General Laurent Nkunda who has went renegade and started a rebel military group has between six-thousand to eight-thousand men under his command. General Nkunda stated to Reuters that integrating five-hundred of his men into the military is a sign that they wish to have peace.
General Nkunda said to BBC via a phone interview that he is ready to hand over five-hundred of his fighters to the Kirolirwe integration camp. While an integration camp has been prepared, none of General Nkunda’s fighters have arrived.
But, Nkunda has told BBC that he wants the Tutsi community which is the minority of the Democratic Republic of Congo that he wants them to be protected from the Hutu rebels from Rwanda. Most of General Nkunda’s forces are comprised of ethnic Tutsis. General Nkunda has accused the Congolese army of receiving the backing of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which is the Rwandan Hutu rebel group.
They have fled into the Democratic Republic of Congo after the one-hundred day genocide back in 1994.
Also to show a sign of peace, General Nkunda wants the government to disarm members of the FDLR along with addressing the return of the Congolese Tutsis who are still in the Rwandan refugee camps.
There is a concern of a possible Hutu-Tutsi war happening again according to the Human Rights Watch organization.