SA hopeful DRC peace will hold

2004-06-07 18:26

Pretoria - Fighting in Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where scores have died over the past week, does not mark an end to the country's peace process, said South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Monday.

"I think the situation in the DRC is not as good as we would like to see it but I also don't think we should exaggerate and give the impression that the peace process is gone," she said.

"Yes, indeed, we are concerned (...) but we do not think that it's the end of the peace process," she said.

"We have to continue to work for peace in the DRC, I don't think we have any other choice," she said.

She added that Pretoria was not only in touch with Kinshasa but also with the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union.

Troops led by dissident general Laurent Nkunda captured Bukavu last week, despite the presence there of UN peacekeepers.

At least 88 people are believed to have died in 10 days of fighting in and around the town.

The fall of Bukavu, the capital of Sud-Kivu province near Rwanda, triggered protests in Kinshasa and other cities against the UN peacekeeping force, in which at least 12 people were officially reported to have died.

One year ago, peace returned to most of the rest of DRC after five years of war.

- AFP