Stand up to govt, says Nkunda
2008-10-03 18:09
Kinshasa - A rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo called on all Congolese people to "stand up" to the national government, in a BBC radio interview aired on Thursday.
"I call on all the active forces, all the Congolese, to stand up to the government that has betrayed all its people," said Laurent Nkunda, head of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP).
The CNDP will "fight until the people are liberated", said Nkunda.
Renewed fighting broke out August 28 in eastern DRC, with government troops and Nkunda's rebels violating the ceasefire reached under the Goma peace accord in January.
Nkunda's radio interview laid to rest rumours in the Kinshasa media that the renegade general had been ill or even was dying.
The latest fighting has forced more than 100 000 people to flee their homes over the past month alone, according to the Red Cross.