French are enemies
2003-05-13 20:07
Kigali - A rebel group that has seized the town of Bunia in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said on Tuesday that if French soldiers were sent by the United Nations to keep peace in the area they would be viewed as "enemies".
Bunia, in the troubled Ituri region of the DRC, was recaptured on Monday by the Rwandan-backed Union of Congolese Patriots, two months after the rebels had been driven out by the Ugandan army.
The French foreign ministry said on Tuesday the fighting in Ituri, which has been the scene of ethnic massacres in recent weeks, had led the United Nations to ask for a French batallion to be sent to the region.
"France is ready to contribute to the stabilisation of Ituri and right now we are studying ways of taking part in an international force," spokesman Francois Rivasseau said.