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New Vision (Kampala)
February 4, 2003
Posted to the web February 4, 2003
John Kakande & Grace Matsiko
Kampala
THE UN Mission (MONUC) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) yesterday warned of an imminent outbreak of fresh fighting in the eastern parts of the country, as Lt. General Salim Saleh met with President Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa.
MONUC reported in Kinshasa having received "alarming" information regarding troop movements on the part of the Kinshasa government, the Kigali government, the Kampala government, and various armed factions in eastern DRC, and warned of "imminent" attacks.
As MONUC sounded the alarm, Saleh, President Museveni's emissary on the Congo, travelled to Kinshasa for talks with President Kabila at the weekend.
Saleh has been engaged in harmonizing relations between Kinshasa and Kampala as well as reconciling different DRC rebel movements. He arrived in Kinshasa on Friday.
"He was in Kinshasa on a mission as an emissary of President Museveni but he is back in Kampala," a source at his office said yesterday.
"It would be shameful for armies that have already withdrawn from the DRC to return to fight each other, as was the case in Kisangani in 2000," said MONUC spokesman Hamadoun Toure.
"It would be equally shameful if Congolese armed factions resorted to fighting at a time when efforts are being made to bring the peace process to its fruition," he added.
UPDF spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza yesterday dismissed MONUC claims as mere rumours.
"MONUC is getting involved in spreading rumours. It is transmitting unverified rumours," he said.
Bantariza said there was no movement of Ugandan troops in Congo.
"When you talk about movement of brigades, you are talking about building up of forces. We are not doing that," he said.
MONUC said the Rwandan army is active in the Ituri district of Orientale Province of northeastern DRC, while the UPDF has battalions supporting various Congolese rebel factions fighting in Ituri.
MONUC also reported the presence of uniformed Rwandan soldiers in the Kivu provinces in the east.
Ugandan and Rwandan troops clashed three times in 2000 and 2001 in the city of Kisangani.
MONUC said there was movement of two UPDF brigades towards Mahagi, north of Bunia, near the border with Uganda. It further cited the presence of four Forces armees congolaises (Kinshasa government's military) battalions in Beni, which is under the control of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Kisangani/Mouvement de liberation (RCD-K/ML) and troop movements by Rwandan-backed RCD-Goma forces on Kanyabayonga, in Lubero, North Kivu Province, an area under RCD-K/ML control.
President Museveni on Saturday met in Kampala the Special Representative of UN Secretary-General to the DRC, Amos Namanga Ngongi, on the DRC peace process, AFP, the French news agency reported yesterday.
Talks between Museveni and Ngongi reportedly focused on steps being taken to pacify the eastern part of the country.
But MONUC said Ngongi was "pursuing contacts with all parties concerned with a view to getting an explanation" of the reported troop movements.
It said Ngongi was appealing to all parties to refrain from any attack which would jeopardise the UN peace efforts.
