Uganda calls for probe into DR Congo clashes
Jun 25, 2004
KAMPALA Friday – In the wake of a UN Security Council statement warning neighbouring countries to stay out of the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Ugandan government asked the African Union (AU) on Thursday to investigate the recent fighting in eastern DRC.
KAMPALA Friday – In the wake of a UN Security Council statement warning neighbouring countries to stay out of the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Ugandan government asked the African Union (AU) on Thursday to investigate the recent fighting in eastern DRC.
“At the request of the UN, Uganda pulled her troops from DRC. We, therefore, have no intention or interest to re-enter the Congo,†Nsimye Sebutulo, Uganda’s regional cooperation minister, said.
He said the AU Peace and Security Council should “quickly investigate†the cause of the current tension between the central government in Kinshasa and dissident Congolese troops.
“We need to study the problem and understand it, then regional bodies like AU can intervene,†he said, proposing that the problem be put on the agenda of upcoming African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
He told IRIN Uganda would guard its border to prevent what he termed “rebel infiltrationsâ€. However, he said the border would remain open to refugees.
Fighting broke out in eastern Congo on May 26 between dissident forces and loyalist government troops. The dissidents, led by Gen. Laurent Nkunda and Col. Jules Mutebutsi, said they were fighting to protect the minority Congolese Tutsi, known as Banyamulenge, from atrocities allegedly committed by a military commander assigned to the region by the transitional government in Kinshasa.
Meanwhile, DRC President Joseph Kabila and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame were to meet in Abuja on Friday, according to the French news agency AFP.
On Thursday, Uganda’s defence state minister Ruth Nankabirwa said the Government was monitoring the situation and was prepared for any eventuality.
Addressing the weekly Government briefing in Nakasero, Nankabirwa said the army was on high alert.
“At the request of the UN, Uganda pulled her troops from DRC. We, therefore, have no intention or interest to re-enter the Congo,†Nsimye Sebutulo, Uganda’s regional cooperation minister, said.
He said the AU Peace and Security Council should “quickly investigate†the cause of the current tension between the central government in Kinshasa and dissident Congolese troops.
“We need to study the problem and understand it, then regional bodies like AU can intervene,†he said, proposing that the problem be put on the agenda of upcoming African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
He told IRIN Uganda would guard its border to prevent what he termed “rebel infiltrationsâ€. However, he said the border would remain open to refugees.
Fighting broke out in eastern Congo on May 26 between dissident forces and loyalist government troops. The dissidents, led by Gen. Laurent Nkunda and Col. Jules Mutebutsi, said they were fighting to protect the minority Congolese Tutsi, known as Banyamulenge, from atrocities allegedly committed by a military commander assigned to the region by the transitional government in Kinshasa.
Meanwhile, DRC President Joseph Kabila and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame were to meet in Abuja on Friday, according to the French news agency AFP.
On Thursday, Uganda’s defence state minister Ruth Nankabirwa said the Government was monitoring the situation and was prepared for any eventuality.
Addressing the weekly Government briefing in Nakasero, Nankabirwa said the army was on high alert.