Rwanda denies Kabila's claim

2004-06-03 13:13

Kigali - Rwanda on Thursday said it was "in no way whatsoever" involved in clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the key town of Bukavu has fallen to former rebel soldiers.

"We were shocked by the declaration by (DRC) President Joseph Kabila, which is baseless," said Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande, referring to a statement made by Kabila late on Wednesday that the fighting in and around Bukavu was "clearly an attack on our country by Rwandan troops".

Rwanda has twice deployed troops in DRC, first in 1996 to back rebels who ousted dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and again in 1998 to back the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), a former rebel group in which the two officers who took Bukavu are senior members.

In October 2002, Kigali announced it had pulled all its forces out of DRC.

General Laurent Nkunda, the dissident DRC officer who led the assault on Bukavu - the capital of DRC's Sud-Kivu province which lies on the Rwandan border - has also denied that Kigali backed him and pledged his loyalty to Kabila.

"I did not come to fight Kinshasa, I only wanted to get rid of the bad military authorities in the region," he told reporters on Thursday, accusing them of "massacring" civilians from his Banyamulenge community, Congolese Tutsis of Rwandan origin who speak the language of the neighbouring country.

He also said he had agreed to billet his troops immediately.

On Wednesday, Nkunda said he recognised Kabila as the ultimate head of the armed forces and said he would pull out of Bukavu if the president ordered him to do so.

In his speech on national television on Wednesday, Kabila said: "We must retake control of the town, reimpose order and reinstall the legitimate authorities who were recently appointed."

- AFP