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New fighting in eastern
Congo
Sun Dec 19, 2004 08:56 PM GMT GOMA, Congo (Reuters) - Fighting between rival army factions has ended days of relative calm in eastern Congo where the United Nations say at least 100,000 people displaced by recent clashes have yet to return home. Troops loyal to the central government fought dissident units around the deserted farming town of Kanyabayonga, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the central African country said on Sunday. "The clashes started again at around 0600 local time (4:00 a.m. British time) just north of Kanyabayonga," said Iliane Nabaa, a U.N. spokeswoman in the capital Kinshasa. U.N. military observers had seen at least 10 bodies in a state of advanced decomposition, officials said. There were also credible reports of fighting between dissident soldiers and the pro-Kinshasa Mai Mai militia around Nyabiondo, some 50 km to the southwest, said U.N. spokeswoman Jacqueline Chenard in the eastern provincial capital Goma. A government delegation held meetings on Sunday with local leaders in Goma to try to pacify the province. Fighting erupted a week ago between government reinforcements and the RCD-Goma armed group, a faction backed by Rwanda during Congo's five-year war but now meant to be part of the national army. But Kanyabayonga had been quiet over the past few days, with families herding goats and carrying mattresses starting to trickle back. U.N. officials say many people are still not back in the homes they fled due to the violence in North Kivu, a thickly forested province rich in gold, diamonds and coltan. "There seem to be at least 100,000 civilians still displaced but the situation is so fluid it is difficult to be precise," said Patrick Lavand'Homme, the head of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in North Kivu. As many as 200,000 people may have been uprooted between Kanyabayonga and Lubero, some 70 km (43 miles) to the north, after hostilities first broke out, he said. LACK OF CONTROL The Democratic Republic of Congo's transitional government appointed a new regional commander, General Gabriel Amisi, last week as part of its struggle to impose authority on the east, particularly North Kivu, which is still dominated by RCD-Goma. "It is a very complex situation and there is a lack of confidence," Amisi told Reuters on Sunday. "It is being manipulated by the politicians and their manipulation is creating a lack of control in the chain of command." The arrival of additional government troops in the region has unsettled its Rwandan-speaking community, who fear they will be attacked out of anti-Rwandan prejudice. "Once again the troops deployed to the east by Kinshasa are showing themselves to be barbarous towards our community," said North Kivu's Rwandaphone community leader, Felicien Hitimana. In a statement, he levelled allegations of arbitrary arrests, torture and murder of Rwandan-speaking Congolese. Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of sending soldiers into eastern Congo to fight alongside dissident troops. Kigali has denied the claims but says it has the right to do so to disarm Hutu rebels based there, some of whom took part in its 1994 genocide. But Rwanda on Sunday retracted its threat to send troops into Congo to hunt Hutu militias, saying it was up to the international community to disarm the rebels. Amisi said the Rwandan-speaking community had no reason to be afraid. "My brothers the Rwandaphones are Congolese and they are obliged
to accept the Congolese law," he said. "I don't know if you can stay in Congo
and not accept Congolese laws." The Mulindwas Communication
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