| CONGO-DEM.REPUBLIC 30/11/2004 19:16 | |
| RWANDAN SOLDIERS IN KIVU? 'EVERYWHERE' SAY SOME, �INVISIBLE� SAY OTHERS/PART1 | |
| General, Standard | |
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�The Rwandans have entered. They don�t come in through the main roads but they are all over the place,� said the regional co-operation minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mbusa Nyamwisi, commenting on the rumours and reports that have been circulating since the weekend concerning the presenece of regular Rwandan soldiers in parts of North Kivu (eastern ex Zaire) on the border with Rwanda. In an interview with the British agency Reuters, Nyamwisi stressed that the Rwandans �have been attacking and burning villages with a severity that I have not seen in the region, not even when the Rwandans were here before�. During the war, Nyamwisi headed up RCD-ML (RCD-Liberation Movement or RCD-Bunia), which started out as an ally of Kigali before shifting allegiance to Kampala and then to Kinshasa. So far, there has been no independent confirmation of his declarations, particularly concerning attacks and violence. �For now, we cannot confirm reports of Rwandans in east Congo,� Patricia Tom�, communications officer for the UN mission in Congo (MONUC), told MISNA this morning. However, reports and rumours continue to emerge from the most disparate sources in the main cities in North and South Kivu (Goma and Bukavu respectively) that several thousand Rwandan troops (from 4.000-10.000) are already deployed in the areas of Rutshuru, Walikale and Masisi. Government sources in South Kivu claim that most of the north Kivu is controlled by Rwandana and their historic allies in the region: the former members of RCD-Goma (Congolese Rally for Democracy, the ex pro-Rwandan rebel movement that now sits on the government of national unity) and the �dissident soldiers� in the new Cunified army who staged an uprising in Bukavu under the command of Laurent Nkunda in May and June. MISNA sources report that despite official declarations the bluehelmets in the area are on high alert, as are the regular army soldiers commanded by General Mbudja Mab�, who said yesterday that he had ordered the deployment of three battalions as back-up to a total of almost 10.000 men. �MONUC is patrolling the border a lot and it is monitoring the area by helicopter but the problem is that it is difficult to spot the Rwandan soldiers,� explains a MISNA source. Some have never gone while others have trickled through the porous border separating the two countries. These soldiers wear the same uniforms as their old allies and they move around together�. There are also reports that several APR (Popular Army of Rwanda) battalions have positioned themselves at Gisenyi and Cyangungu along the border with Congo. However the declaration made by President Paul Kagame before the Kigali Senate this afternoon that Rwandan troops could be in neighbouring Congo �right now� literally paralysed the population. �My feeling is that there is a psychological tug-of-war going on and that someone has interests in in creasing the tension in the area,� a diplomatic source told MISNA from Kinshasa. (Continues)[LC] | |
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