UPDF Willing To Train DRC Forces
Apr 16, 2003
UGANDA has expressed the willingness to train Congolese forces that will take charge of the border security, foreign affairs minister James Wapakhabulo said on Tuesday.
By Felix Osike
UGANDA has expressed the willingness to train Congolese forces that will take charge of the border security, foreign affairs minister James Wapakhabulo said on Tuesday.
“In view of the fact that the DRC force to be deployed on the slopes of Mt. Rwenzori has to be put together after the resumption of diplomatic relations between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda is willing to offer training assistance to that force through the provision of instructors,†Wapakhabulo told a ministerial meeting at Bunia, in north-eastern DRC.
The UPDF pulls out of the DRC next Thursday, but there is no force yet to replace them.
DRC’s Minister for Human Rights, Ntumba Luaba, on Tuesday asked for a plan for the withdrawal of Uganda troops and insisted that an international force and the national Congolese Police be deployed in the area.
Angola’s envoy to the DRC, Jean Baptiste Maweta, and the UN Security Council representatives, attended the meeting.
Army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza said yesterday the UPDF would train DRC’s Alpine Brigade to handle the border security.
Uganda and DRC on Tuesday agreed that at least one UPDF brigade be deployed on Mt. Rwenzori slopes inside Congo.
“The Congolese and the Uganda delegations reiterate the need and urgency for the implementation of the security mechanism regarding the western slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains,†read a joint communiqué issued after the one-day talks.
But practical modalities of such deployment will be finalised when officials from the Defence and Foreign affairs ministries travel to Kinshasa on April 24. They are also expected to discuss other bilateral issues.
Under the arrangement, the Kinshasa government would initially deploy one battalion and an additional later.
Ends
UGANDA has expressed the willingness to train Congolese forces that will take charge of the border security, foreign affairs minister James Wapakhabulo said on Tuesday.
“In view of the fact that the DRC force to be deployed on the slopes of Mt. Rwenzori has to be put together after the resumption of diplomatic relations between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda is willing to offer training assistance to that force through the provision of instructors,†Wapakhabulo told a ministerial meeting at Bunia, in north-eastern DRC.
The UPDF pulls out of the DRC next Thursday, but there is no force yet to replace them.
DRC’s Minister for Human Rights, Ntumba Luaba, on Tuesday asked for a plan for the withdrawal of Uganda troops and insisted that an international force and the national Congolese Police be deployed in the area.
Angola’s envoy to the DRC, Jean Baptiste Maweta, and the UN Security Council representatives, attended the meeting.
Army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza said yesterday the UPDF would train DRC’s Alpine Brigade to handle the border security.
Uganda and DRC on Tuesday agreed that at least one UPDF brigade be deployed on Mt. Rwenzori slopes inside Congo.
“The Congolese and the Uganda delegations reiterate the need and urgency for the implementation of the security mechanism regarding the western slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains,†read a joint communiqué issued after the one-day talks.
But practical modalities of such deployment will be finalised when officials from the Defence and Foreign affairs ministries travel to Kinshasa on April 24. They are also expected to discuss other bilateral issues.
Under the arrangement, the Kinshasa government would initially deploy one battalion and an additional later.
Ends