Uganda rebels clash with DR Congo militia
May 14, 2004
UGANDAN rebels and Congolese militia groups clashed last Wednesday around Beni, a Congolese radio reported yesterday.
By Emmy Allio
and Raymond Baguma
UGANDAN rebels and Congolese militia groups clashed last Wednesday around Beni, a Congolese radio reported yesterday.
Bunia-based Radio Kandip reported that the Ugandan rebels clashed with a splinter faction of RCD-ML rebels of Mbusa Nyamwisi in the jungles east of Beni town.
When contacted, the UPDF spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said,“As we agreed, Uganda’s matters concerning Congo are handled by the Kinshasa government and the United Nations Mission in Congo (MONUC).
The radio did not name the Ugandan rebel groups that were involved in the clashes. But Ugandan security confirmed the Beni clashes, saying it was the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and People’s Redemption Army (PRA).
“We learnt that two PRA were killed and many others were taken prisoner by the Congolese militia groups,†the sources said.
Bundibugyo district chairman Jackson Bambalira told visiting MPs that he was worried about the events in Congo. “We have serious security concerns about the Congo side of the border,†he said.
He was addressing MPs on the committee for tourism at Karugutu during a tour of Semliki Wildlife Reserve on Wednesday. Present was the state minister for tourism, Jovina Akaki.
Bambalira said fighters from several groups in Eringeti and Musu areas in Congo had gathered at Bataringa where they had formed a government and were collecting taxes from the local population.
Bataringa was once a major ADF base before UPDF soldiers who were in Congo flushed them out.
Congolese sources said that tension was high in Beni and Butembo zones in Congo following recent reports of alleged Rwandan army re-entry into Congo. The sources said Mbusa Nyamwisi’s RCD-ML have split along pro and anti-Rwanda groups. RCD-ML is a former Congolese rebel group which is now part of the Transitional government in Kinshasa.
The sources said part of former Mbusa soldiers are opposed to the on-going deployment of RCD-Goma forces in Beni and Butembo. These towns were formerly occupied by Ugandan soldiers before they pulled out of Congo.
Kigali authorities have denied reports of their re-entry to Congo despite confirmations by MONUC and the Kinshasa government.
Ugandan security sources said that PRA and ADF have been moving freely between Beni and Goma, and that Rwanda-backed RCD-Goma authorities facilitate them.
Tension is high in Ituri where Lendu and Hema ethnic conflict is still rife. Security sources said the Lendu militias were regrouping at the Lake Albert shore village of Lugwambi and near Burasi, across the border from Rwabisengo in Bundibugyo.
Ends
and Raymond Baguma
UGANDAN rebels and Congolese militia groups clashed last Wednesday around Beni, a Congolese radio reported yesterday.
Bunia-based Radio Kandip reported that the Ugandan rebels clashed with a splinter faction of RCD-ML rebels of Mbusa Nyamwisi in the jungles east of Beni town.
When contacted, the UPDF spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said,“As we agreed, Uganda’s matters concerning Congo are handled by the Kinshasa government and the United Nations Mission in Congo (MONUC).
The radio did not name the Ugandan rebel groups that were involved in the clashes. But Ugandan security confirmed the Beni clashes, saying it was the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and People’s Redemption Army (PRA).
“We learnt that two PRA were killed and many others were taken prisoner by the Congolese militia groups,†the sources said.
Bundibugyo district chairman Jackson Bambalira told visiting MPs that he was worried about the events in Congo. “We have serious security concerns about the Congo side of the border,†he said.
He was addressing MPs on the committee for tourism at Karugutu during a tour of Semliki Wildlife Reserve on Wednesday. Present was the state minister for tourism, Jovina Akaki.
Bambalira said fighters from several groups in Eringeti and Musu areas in Congo had gathered at Bataringa where they had formed a government and were collecting taxes from the local population.
Bataringa was once a major ADF base before UPDF soldiers who were in Congo flushed them out.
Congolese sources said that tension was high in Beni and Butembo zones in Congo following recent reports of alleged Rwandan army re-entry into Congo. The sources said Mbusa Nyamwisi’s RCD-ML have split along pro and anti-Rwanda groups. RCD-ML is a former Congolese rebel group which is now part of the Transitional government in Kinshasa.
The sources said part of former Mbusa soldiers are opposed to the on-going deployment of RCD-Goma forces in Beni and Butembo. These towns were formerly occupied by Ugandan soldiers before they pulled out of Congo.
Kigali authorities have denied reports of their re-entry to Congo despite confirmations by MONUC and the Kinshasa government.
Ugandan security sources said that PRA and ADF have been moving freely between Beni and Goma, and that Rwanda-backed RCD-Goma authorities facilitate them.
Tension is high in Ituri where Lendu and Hema ethnic conflict is still rife. Security sources said the Lendu militias were regrouping at the Lake Albert shore village of Lugwambi and near Burasi, across the border from Rwabisengo in Bundibugyo.
Ends