Tribal strife to end: Kabila
2009-12-07 22:38
Kinshasha - President Joseph Kabila on Monday vowed that "public order will be restored" in the north west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where deadly tribal strife has erupted.
"Public order must be and will be restored" in the Dongo region of Equateur province, said Kabila in a televised address to parliament on the third anniversary of his election to lead the vast country.
Kabila denounced the "tribalism of another age" that has pit fighters of the Lobola tribe against those of the Bomboma, at the cost of at least 100 lives and scores of thousands of displaced people and refugees.
On Sunday, a commando battalion of 600 men was sent to Dongo in a bid to put a stop to the fighting, which some sources say are over fishing rights in rich waters while others say that a former rebel group has become active.
The UN mission to the DR Congo, Monuc, is planning to send 120 policemen to back up Congolese police on the spot.
More than 112 000 people have fled the conflict zone, including 74 000 who have crossed the Oubangui river into the Republic of Congo, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
- SAPA