DRC ministers run scared
2004-05-31 16:59
Nairobi - A Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ministerial delegation visiting the eastern town of Goma took refuge on Monday in a UN compound because of tension in the region, and the town's airport was closed for several hours, the UN said.
"The members of the delegation (which arrived on Sunday) asked to leave their hotel. They asked Monuc (the UN mission in DRC) to evacuate them," Monuc's spokesperson in the town, Jacqueline Chenard, told AFP by phone.
"They have come to the Monuc compound," she added.
The town's international airport was closed for several hours on Monday, reportedly on the orders of an army major who used be a member of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), a former rebel group backed by Rwanda.
RCD cadres have been integrated into the army since a peace deal was implemented in April 2003 but the marriage has been far from smooth and broke down into outright hostilities last week in Bukavu, another major town in the east.
"Goma airport reopened on Monday afternoon but the only aircraft landing or taking off were Monuc helicopters," said Chenard.
Growing tension in region
Members of the Kinshasa delegation said they were concerned about the growing tension in the region.
Chenard said they were discussing whether or not to travel on to Bukavu.
The delegation includes defence minister Jean-Pierre Ondekane and information minister Vital Kamerhe.
It also includes vice president Azarias Ruberwa, but he was not evacuated because he was not staying in the same hotel but in a house, the spokesperson said.
Ruberwa, who, like Ondekane, shares a rebel background with the dissident fighters in Bukavu, was due to go on local radio later Monday to make an appeal for calm.
"There are a lot of rumours going around. People are very worried. The streets (of Goma) were almost empty this morning," said the spokesperson.
Dissident ex-RCD troops had surrounded Bukavu's airport overnight and set up a position about 20km north of the town.
Some 27 people were killed in Bukavu last week as regular government troops battled with the dissidents.
- AFP