Rwanda's past source of recent ire

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Rwanda plays an important role in Africa despite allegations that Rwandan troops were involved in mass killings in the 1990s, a U.S. official said.

A 545-page U.N. investigation into violence in the Congo suggested the Rwandan military carried out mass killings of ethnic Hutu during the 1990s, accusing government forces of genocide and crimes against humanity, The Washington Post reported. The U.N. report highlights a period in the Congo from March 1993 to June 2003.

U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley came under fire during his daily press briefing for the U.S. military support of Rwanda during the investigation period.

Crowley said the relationship with Rwanda was separate from the genocide campaign that plagued the country in the early 1990.

Now, Crowley said, Rwanda plays a "constructive role" in the region and in several U.N. missions.

"It is in our interest to help to professionalize military forces," he said. "And we work hard on that in various parts of the world."

A human rights report from the United Nations last week accused rebels with the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda and the local Mai Mai militia of gang-raping more than 150 women in Congolese provinces bordering Rwanda between July 30 and Aug. 2.

The attacks followed a decision by the U.N. Security Council to adopt a mandate for the region that stresses protection for civilians.

The Rwanda militant group, composed of ethnic Hutu fighters, is linked to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda that claimed more than 800,000 lives by some estimates.