By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Rwandan government has rejected a report by a U.N. panel of experts that accuses Kigali of supporting Tutsi rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, describing it as inaccurate and biased. The government's rebuttal was contained in a seven-page document, obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, that attacked the main points in a report from the U.N. Group of Experts, which recommended expanding a list of individuals and firms facing U.N. sanctions for supporting rebels in Congo. The report, which the U.N. Security Council is scheduled to discuss later this week, accuses Rwanda of supporting rebels loyal to renegade Congolese Tutsi Gen. Laurent Nkunda and the Congolese army of backing Rwandan Hutu rebels, some of whom are accused of participating in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. "This report is a calculated move to shift blame away from the government of DRC (Congo) and the international community -- both of whom have failed to resolve the conflict in the eastern DRC despite numerous bilateral, regional and international initiatives in the last 14 years," Rwanda said. The experts' report "contains dangerous inaccuracies and ill-intended information regarding the alleged support of the government of Rwanda to the CNDP," it said, referring to the rebel group led by Nkunda. It also accused the experts of "downplaying the despicable genocidal ideology" of the Rwandan Hutu rebels in Congo. The Rwandan rebuttal rejected the notion that the government has supported Nkunda and his rebels. Kigali had implemented "stringent measures to prohibit any form of support to CNDP from the Rwandan territory," it said, adding that some 67 of Nkunda's recruits are presently detained in Rwanda. It also rejected the suggestion that Rwanda had been helping Nkunda's rebels recruit child soldiers and that Rwandan soldiers had been active in Nkunda's ranks. It said Kigali "was not aware" of any Rwandan bank accounts CNDP rebels might own. Accusations that the Rwandan army had provided military uniforms, military hardware and support to Nkunda's rebels were unfounded, the statement said. It acknowledged, however, that Kigali had informed the panel it had arrested someone attempting to ship Rwandan uniforms to the rebels. The Rwandan statement did not touch on one of the most damning charges in the U.N. report -- that among those accused of providing support to rebels loyal to Nkunda is Tribert Rujugiro, an adviser to Rwandan President Paul Kagame. More than 250,000 civilians have fled fighting in eastern Congo between Nkunda's insurgents, Congo's army, local militia and Rwandan Hutu rebels since clashes broke out in August. (Editing by Eric Walsh)
RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2008 The wreckage of the Hewa Bora Airways passenger jet burns at its crash site in Goma, capital of Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern North Kivu ...
