CONGO-DEM.REPUBLIC 22/6/2004 9:32 RWANDA ACCUSES KINSHASA OF TROOPS AT BORDER, MILITARY DEFEATS DISSIDENTS General, Standard Rwanda considers the deployment of around 10-thousand soldiers of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo along the border between the two nations, among the most instable frontiers of central Africa, as âa hostile actionâ. This was the statement made yesterday by Rwandan military spokesman Patrick Karegaya. While from Kinshasa the armed forces chief of DR-Congo reiterated that the decision to concentrate troops is aimed to halt the armed actions and violence of âdissidentâ soldiers, that for nearly a month have been creating terror in the province of North and South Kivu. âCongo is not preparing to attack Rwandaâ, publicly declared Kinshasaâs Foreign Minister Antoine Gonda, in a move to end the exchange of accusations and criticism with Kigali, ongoing for nearly a month. Or better, since two Congolese insubordinate officers, excluded from the command posts of the reunified army created based on the complex peace accords of two years ago, launched an attack against Bukavu, capital of South Kivu, claiming to defend the Banyamulenge minority (Tutsi of Rwandan origin). According to DR-Congo President Joseph Kabila, there is a Rwandan plot behid these attacks, while Kigali denies such allegations. Among the many declarations of the day, Kinshasaâs Defence Minister Jean-Pierre Ondekane yesterday underlined that in east Congo rebel groups are still active and that the large deployment of forces is aimed at creating cohesion in the army after years of war. Local MISNA sources observe that the Minister is from the lines of the RCD-Goma, the former rebellion backed by Rwanda that for years presided east Congo and that now is part of the government of national unity. In this sense, his declaration should represent a sort of guarantee toward the Kigali government. Meanwhile, on the field the situation has not yet normalised: after being repelled from Bukavu on June 9, the âdissidentsâ have now been forced to withdraw also from Kamanyola, a location around 40km in direction of Uvira seized a few days ago. The news was confirmed by MISNA sources, specifying that on Sunday the insubordinate soldiers of Colonel Jules Mutebusi attempted to also attack the town of Luvungi, moving further south in direction of Uvira. There was intense fighting at the entrance of Luvungi between the dissident soldiers and Congolese regular forces, which then managed to repel the attack. In the same hours the United Nations Mission in DR-Congo (MONUC) opened fire for the first time against Mutebusiâs troops. This evening an armed forces spokesman, Colonel Leon Richard Kasongo, told the AFP agency that the rebels were repelled from Kamanyola, but was not able to say where they were headed. [BO]
