The Democratic Republic of Congo's most powerful rebel leader, captured Jan. 22 by the Rwandan Army as it switched alliances, is not in prison but is in a "safe" place in Rwanda, a Rwandan Army spokesman said Jan. 26.

Laurent Nkunda AP PHOTO

Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has long had close ties to neighboring Rwanda, but Rwandan troops turned on him as part of a breakthrough deal that saw at least 4,000 Rwandan soldiers enter Congo to hunt down Hutu militias.

"Nkunda is not in jail. He is not in prison," Rwandan Army spokesman Maj. Jill Rutaremara said. "There is a difference between arresting someone and putting him in prison. All I can say is: He is safe."

Rutaremara refused to elaborate.

The region has been mired in conflict since Rwanda's 1994 genocide spilled war across the border and Hutu militias who fueled the genocide sought refuge in eastern Congo.

Rwanda has invaded Congo twice to eradicate the militias. The militia's presence also gave birth in 2004 to Nkunda's rebellion, whose raison d'etre was defending minority Tutsis against Rwandan Hutus.

Weeks ago, Nkunda had forced Congo's embattled government to negotiate at peace talks in Kenya after his fighters advanced to the outskirts of the regional capital, Goma, forcing more than 250,000 people from their homes.

Analysts say Rwanda was under intense international pressure to use its influence over the Tutsi rebellion to end the crisis.

Guillaume Lacaille, a Nairobi, Kenya-based analyst for the International Crisis Group, said Nkunda appears to be under house arrest.