AU demands DRC troops stop

2004-06-05 14:26

Nairobi - The African Union, which groups all of the continent's states, has called on dissident troops in east Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to immediately hand over control of Sud-Kivu province back to the transitional government, according to a statement.

The AU's Peace and Security Council (PSC), similar the UN's Security Council, "demands" that the "mutineers" who on Wednesday overran the Sud-Kivu capital, Bukavu, "immediately transfer the administration of the province to the civilian and military authorities designated by the government," the statement said.

The PSC, which met on Friday, "strongly condemns the occupation of Bukavu by dissident soldiers of the new Congolese National Army, as well as the acts of looting, rape and massive violations of human rights that accompanied the occupation of the city."

The council also urged "the UN Security Council to increase the size of Monuc (the UN peacekeeping force in DRC) and to provide it with additional means, to enable it to lend a more effective support to the peace process in the DRC and, in this regard, requests AU member states to stand ready to provide troops to the United Nations in order to strengthen Monuc."

The statement was released before reports emerged that the dissident troops, led by former rebel General Laurent Nkunda, were marching along key roads towards strategic towns elsewhere in eastern DRC.

In the wake of Kinshasa's accusation that Rwanda, whose forces fought DRC troops during the war and backed Nkunda's rebel group, was behind the uprising, the PSC called on both countries "to work more vigorously towards the promotion of an atmosphere of confidence and dialogue and the strengthening of their relations to facilitate the successful conclusion of the peace process in the DRC."

The PSC has the power to send African peace support troops to places where belligerents have signed peace accords.

- AFP