DRC demands UN action

2008-09-09 08:09

Kinshasa - Congolese Tutsi rebels attacked government army positions on Monday, prompting UN peacekeepers to fire warning shots, but a government minister demanded UN troops take firmer action to impose peace.

Rebels loyal to renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda launched simultaneous raids in North and South Kivu provinces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo early on Monday.

There have been daily violations in North Kivu of a January ceasefire agreement between the government and the rebels. But Monday's fighting was the first major flare-up in South Kivu, where rogue armed groups signed an identical peace agreement.

Peacekeepers from the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) fired warning shots at Nkunda's fighters in an effort to stem the rebel advance near the town of Kikuku, around 65km north of North Kivu's provincial capital, Goma.

But a government minister demanded firmer action.

"I have asked that MONUC impose peace and oblige everyone to return to the (peace) process," Interior Minister Denis Kalume told Reuters from Goma.

"MONUC has a responsibility to do it. The Security Council Resolutions are very clear. The UN must help Congo," he said.

US and EU-backed efforts to pacify eastern Congo, where violence has continued long after the official end of a broader 1998-2003 war, were dealt a major blow when direct fighting erupted between the rebels and the army more than a week ago.

Nkunda's National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) has suspended its participation in the peace process, accusing the government of preparing operations against them.

Appeal for peace

MONUC blamed Nkunda's troops for instigating most of the recent fighting and called on eastern rebel and militia groups to abide by the January peace agreement.

"If you want peace, there must be a will to have it. And that's what's missing now," MONUC force commander General Babacar Gaye said. He said UN peacekeepers had no immediate plans to use force against Nkunda's fighters.

But he added: "When it's a last resort, we don't hesitate to use it. We've done so in the past".

MONUC, with its 17 000 troops deployed in the central African nation, is the world's largest peacekeeping mission and has the right under its mandate in Congo to use deadly force, if necessary, to combat threats to peace and protect civilians.

Under the January deal, UN troops were meant to establish buffer zones between the warring factions, but UN forces are overstretched and have struggled to control frequent clashes.

Local politicians and military authorities accuse the UN of not doing enough to pressure Nkunda's rebels to disband and reintegrate into the army.

Protesters barred roads and attacked MONUC convoys last week, burning one armoured vehicle in the town of Rutshuru, 70km north of Goma.

- Reuters