DRC says Rwanda troops must go
2004-04-26 20:22
Kinshasa - The government of Democratic Republic of Congo protested on Monday at the "unjustified presence" of Rwandan troops on DRC soil in the northeast and warned that it could undermine diplomatic relations.
"The transition government of DRC has learned with surprise and deep concern of the presence of the Rwandan Defence Forces (FDR) in the Bunagana sector, a border post with DRC, in Nord-Kivu" province, an official statement said.
The UN mission in DRC (Monuc) on Saturday confirmed that Rwandan soldiers were deployed in the region, which remains the most volatile in the vast DRC since Rwanda announced a total pull-out from the country in October 2002 after a devastating war which embroiled more than half a dozen countries.
"This unjustified presence ... is a flagrant breach of commitments" made by the neighbouring countries in New York in September last year and two months later in Pretoria.
On April 12, the Rwandan army chief of staff, James Kabarebe, wrote a letter to the UN secretary general's special envoy accusing the rebel Rwandan Democratic Liberation Forces, blamed for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, of cross-border insurgency from DRC.
The Kinshasa government said this allegation had not been substantiated by Monuc military observers.
The Rwandan military deployment was "even more unjustifiable since Monuc, which has observers on both sides of the border, has not to date confirmed the Rwandan charges of supposed incursions by armed FDLR groups."
The statement added that the transition government was determined to re-establish normal relations with its neighbours. Rwanda had backed DRC rebels throughout the war that began in 1998 and was slowly brought to an end three years later.
Kinshasa has banned any political and military activity on its territory by the FDLR and on Monday "renewed its commitment" to friendly relations, the statement said.
"To confirm this commitment, we have asked the UN secretary general to set up an independent commission under Monuc command to shed light on the possible existence of incursions into Rwanda by armed groups," it said.
- SAPA