Uganda expels 6 DRC rebels

2005-08-24 13:43

Kampala - Uganda said on Wednesday that it had ordered the expulsion of six rebels from the Democratic Republic of Congo after a pledge Kampala made to Kinshasa earlier this month to crack down on infiltrators.

Interior minister Ruhakana Rugunda said the six men - believed to be members of militias grouped under the Revolutionary Movement of Congo (RMC) - had been declared "persona non grata" on Tuesday and given 48 hours to leave the country.

He said: "In the spirit of supporting security in the Great Lakes region and in support of the interim arrangement in the DRC, we decided that they leave Uganda in 48 hours and this countdown started on Tuesday at 16:00."

Rugunda said the six were part of a larger group of 14 DRC rebels who entered Uganda between June 12 and 15 and had since talked openly about launching an insurgency in the neighbouring volatile eastern portion of the DRC.

Uganda's commitment to peace

He said: "There is a document attributed to them declaring war on the DRC", adding that the expulsions had been ordered despite the group's denial of wrongdoing because of Uganda's commitment to peace in the DRC.

He could not say where the men would go, but emphasised that they would be arrested and prosecuted in Uganda if they failed to leave before Thursday's deadline expired.

Earlier this month, Uganda agreed to clamp down on Congolese rebels using its territory and Kampala and Kinshasa said they would boost efforts to locate the sources of arms for militia groups in the eastern DRC.

The region had been torn by ethnic and political strife since the formal end in 2003 of a devastating war which drew in the armies of more than half a dozen countries, including Uganda and Rwanda to the east.

- AFP