'Army must return to barracks'
2006-08-22 16:36
Kinshasa - President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Tuesday that all Congolese troops in the capital must return immediately to barracks after two days of clashes, said a presidency spokesperson.
"The only thing that is important at the moment is that the situation in Kinshasa returns to normal," said Kabila in comments relayed by his spokesperson Leonard She Okitundu.
"For that, the republican guard (protecting Kabila) and the armed elements of vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba must return to their positions immediately."
Fierce fighting between forces loyal to Kabila and Bemba broke out in Kinshasa after presidential election results issued on Sunday showed that no one had won an outright majority, and the two candidates will contest a second-round run-off vote.
Kabila's comments came after he met with foreign diplomats of the international committee accompanying the country's transition to democracy, known by its French acronym CIAT.
Fourteen CIAT ambassadors were trapped for several hours in Bemba's villa on Monday after his residence along the banks of the River Congo came under heavy artillery fire from DRC army tanks.