originally published in the New York Times, United States
IGALI, Rwanda — Rwandan officials promised on Saturday to return the Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda to his home country, more than two weeks after the Rwandan military arrested him near the border.
“The government has agreed that he go back,” said Maj. Jill Rutaremara, a spokesman for Rwanda’s Defense Forces. “The military will receive a go-ahead when the time comes.”
He also said Rwanda’s own troops, who marched into eastern Congo last month as part of a joint Rwandan-Congolese operation, would leave the country “by the end of the month.”
Though a deal for Mr. Nkunda was reached in principle, Rwandan officials said, the conditions of his release and the timing of it were still up in the air.
The Congolese government has accused Mr. Nkunda of war crimes, including killing prisoners and plundering towns, and wants him to stand trial in Congo. But Mr. Nkunda used to serve in the Rwandan Army and is widely believed to still be close to top Rwandan officials. Many people in Rwanda doubt that the government would allow him to be severely punished.
“We will put together a team of Congolese and Rwandese, and we will figure it out,” said Rosemary Museminali, Rwanda’s foreign minister.
High-level talks on the rebel leader’s fate have been held over the past two days in the Rwandan resort town of Gisenyi.
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