RCD Rebels Review Kisangani Withdraw

Jul 20, 2001

KIGALI - The main rebel group in the DR Congo (DRC) is studying how best to demilitarise the flashpoint city of Kisangani, the group's spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

KIGALI - The main rebel group in the DR Congo (DRC) is studying how best to demilitarise the flashpoint city of Kisangani, the group's spokesman told AFP on Thursday. The Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) "has never rejected the principle of demilitarising Kisangani, but we have always made known our concerns in our capacity as Congolese," Kin Key Mulumba told AFP. "We are still studying, with the (UN) Security Council, the modalities of this demilitarisation, which will take into account the security of Kisangani and its population," he added. "We have strengthened our political presence, but there is still a problem with our military presence, which is a totally different problem," he added when asked to comment on the rebels' alleged plans to bolster their presence in the town. The RCD has come under intense international pressure to demilitarise the important northeastern town as part of a protracted process to wind up more than three years of war in the vast country. Last week, the UN Security Council repeated a call for the rebels to leave the town. Kin Key said he had assured UN envoy Kamel Morjane, when the envoy visited the rebels' headquarters in Goma on Saturday, that the RCD would indeed leave the town. Ends

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