DRC: Fighting in Kisangani, Uvira under rebel control 1998.8.6

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER

DRC: Fighting in Kisangani, Uvira under rebel control

NAIROBI, 6 August 1998 (IRIN) - Fighting continued in DRC's third city, Kisangani, today between rebellious forces and the Congolese army, humanitarian sources in DRC told IRIN. Residents of Lubumbashi, the second city, said the situation there was now calm after clashes overnight Tuesday which left three people dead (including one Congolese and one Munyamulenge soldier) and dozens injured.

Uvira was reported to have fallen to rebel troops today. Humanitarian sources contacted by IRIN in the region confirmed the town was under Banyamulenge control, although shooting could still be heard. There were also incidences of looting. Mai-Mai groups, opposed to the Banyamulenge, have apparently been involved in the fighting. Humanitarian work has been suspended and several hundred people fled across the border into Burundi's Cibitoke province to escape heavy fighting yesterday.

Reports from Bukavu, meanwhile, indicated the rebels were consolidating their hold on the town. The Rwanda News Agency said the new leaders had called on forces loyal to President Laurent-Desire Kabila to surrender and report to a military camp on the outskirts of the town. Local residents told IRIN people were moving freely around the town, but pointed out the biggest uncertainty at the moment was the threat of a counter-attack by pro-Kabila troops.

Rwanda continues to deny any involvement in the rebellion. US military personnel in camouflage uniforms have been sighted at the Gisenyi border point, according to AP. The soldiers are members of part of the 'Rwanda Interagency Assessment Team', which has been in the country for about 10 days. Pentagon officials have confirmed the US presence in Rwanda, saying the 20-man is in the country as part of President Clinton's pledge to help "counter a resurgence of genocide".

Both the State Department and the UN have expressed concern over the situation in DRC. "We urge all countries in the region to respect the territorial integrity of the Congo, refrain from becoming involved in the conflict and respect international law," said James Foley, a State Department spokesman. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan echoed the call to respect DRC's sovereignty and appealed to regional leaders to try and prevent the crisis from spreading. He also called on the Congolese people to refrain from acts of persecution or harassment.

In Kinshasa there are continuing reports of persecution of ethnic Tutsis. Human Rights Watch said government soldiers were conducting house to house searches and stopping Tutsis at roadblocks and in the city centre. Humanitarian sources in the city told IRIN an estimated 1,000 Tutsis were being held at an open air stadium in Kinshasa.

The DRC mission to the UN has called on the Security Council to intervene and put a stop to the "Rwandan aggression", accusing Kigali of "declaring war" on Congo. And DRC government spokesman Didier Mumengi, during talks with diplomats in Kinshasa yesterday, threatened to "take the war into Rwandan territory". In a television broadcast, he also announced the lifting of the Kinshasa curfew as from today and urged Congolese citizens to "return to the task of national reconstruction with greatly increased vigilance". "The war imposed on us by Rwanda has ceased to be a matter for the Congolese armed forces alone," he said. Interior Minister Gaetan Kakudji described opposition leader Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma, named as "coordinator" of the rebellion, as a "servant of the Rwandans".

Ugandan Airlines meanwhile has suspended its twice-weekly flights to DRC because of the growing insecurity, the 'New Vision' daily reported.

Nairobi, 6 August 1998, 12:00 gmt

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[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN Tel: +254 2 622123 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org for more information or subscriptions. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the WWW at: http://www.reliefweb.int/ or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@ocha.unon.org. Mailing list: irin-cea-weekly]

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DRC: Fighting spreads, Karaha appointed rebellion's deputy leader

Former foreign minister Bizima Karaha was today appointed deputy leader of the rebel group seeking to oust President Laurent-Desire Kabila, Rwandan radio reported. Opposition politician Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma was yesterday named to head the rebel movement.

Fighting continued in Kisangani today, and Uvira was reportedly in rebel hands. In Bukavu, the new leaders appeared to be consolidating their hold. [For more information, please refer to earlier IRIN item headlined "Fighting in Kisangani, Uvira under rebel control"].

Interior Minister Gaetan Kakudji admitted Goma and Bukavu had fallen to the rebels, but said government forces were fighting back in Bas Congo and Kisangani. Radio France Internationale reported that army reinforcements had been sent to Matadi in the west, and Kisangani. Various press reports said rebel forces had taken the western oil town of Muanda and the naval base of Banana, close to the Angolan enclave of Cabinda. Diplomatic souces cited Kakudji as saying three planeloads of Rwandan soldiers had landed at Kitona military base in the area, which was initially taken by rebel fighters who hijacked a plane there from Goma.

Human rights organisations expressed increasing concern over the persecution of Tutsis in Kinshasa and diplomatic sources told IRIN the Kinshasa authorities had voiced doubt over their ability to protect the Banyamulenge and other ethnic Tutsis in the city. One proposal put forward was the establishment of safe areas in Kinshasa for the Tutsis.

Rwanda today admitted it had grown suspicious of Kabila "shifting sides" and "supporting the very forces that committed genocide". In an interview with the Rwanda News Agency, army spokesman Emmanuel Ndahiro stuck by Kigali's denial of involvement in the DRC rebellion, blaming the current crisis on Kabila who was trying to "find scapegoats" for his problems. "This conflict might bring about further complications", he stated. "There is evidence that in the recent past, he (Kabila) has been lifting Interahamwe and ex-FAR from eastern Congo, from the regions of Masisi and Rutshuru, to Kamina base for reorganisation and training." Kamina is located near the Angolan border. Ndahiro dismissed DRC's threats of "taking the war to Rwanda", saying he doubted the country had enough troops to do this. He added that Rwanda would defend its borders.

Uganda said it was "very concerned" over events in Congo. The president's press secretary Hope Kivengere told IRIN however that Kampala was not disappointed with Kabila's performance. "When you're a new government you can't wave a wand and immediately get control of a country as big as Congo," she said. "All changes don't go in a straight line. We got rid of a big problem that was Mobutu." She claimed Uganda was satisifed with Kinshasa's cooperation in flushing out rebels based in eastern DRC, as well as with business opportunities opening up for Uganda in the country. However she could not confirm President Museveni's attendance at the Victoria Falls summit tomorrow to discuss the Congo problem. He is currently in the western town of Kasese overseeing the situation after an attack by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) at the weekend.

While the conflict is still at an early stage, aid organisations began expressing fears about the possible humanitarian backlash. UNHCR reported that 19 refugees from Uvira had arrived in Tanzanian town of Kigoma by boat yesterday, after being turned back at the Burundi border which is closed. UNHCR has suspended its repatration of Tanzania-based DRC refugees, but some aid workers fear the possible mass return of recently-repatriated refugees from Fizi and Uvira.

Nairobi, 6 August 1998, 16:00 gmt

[ENDS]

Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 15:12:59 +0300 (GMT+0300) From: IRIN - Central and Eastern Africa <irin@ocha.unon.org> Subject: DRC: Fighting in Kisangani, Uvira under rebel control 1998.8.6 Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.91.980806151055.18754b-100000@ocha.unon.org>

Editor: Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D

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