Museveni vows on peace as tensions with Rwanda mount

Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni on Friday said his country was ready to defeat any aggression as tensions with neighboring Rwanda rose.

Museveni who was speaking at celebrations to mark International Women’s day in the Rwenzori region, close to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, urged people ‘not to be scared’.

“No one will disturb the peace in Uganda. The peace will be maintained. The ADF are in Congo and the conflict will remain there. Whoever wants to cause conflict in Kasese, will not manage,” a statement posted on the state house website read in part.

Kampala and Kigali have traded accusations of hostilities in recent weeks. On Tuesday, Rwandan Foreign Minister Richard Sezibera accused Uganda of providing bases to two rebel groups – Rwanda National Congress (RNC) and Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

“RNC and FDLR work from Uganda with support of some authorities there. This is another serious case and we have raised it with them,” he told a news conference in Kigali.

The RNC is a rebel group led by some of Rwanda’s most prominent dissidents including South Africa-based Kayumba Nyamwasa. Its founders say it is a political party.

The FDLR is a rebel group composed in part of former Rwandan soldiers and Hutu militias who fled into Democratic Republic of Congo after massacring around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.

A statement by Uganda’s foreign minister denied the accusations.

This week, Ugandan media reported that Rwanda was amassing troops near its border with Uganda. Rwanda last week shut its Katuna border to traffic to and from Uganda citing repair works. Kigali has also advised its nationals from traveling to Kampala.

Ugandan media reported on Friday that Museveni had advised government officials to ignore provocations by Kigali.