DATE=12/16/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CONGO / REBELS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-257211
BYLINE=TODD PITMAN
DATELINE=KIGALI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The leaders of three rebel factions in
Congo-Kinshasa are scheduled to meet on Friday in
southern Uganda. As Todd Pitman reports from the
Rwandan capital, Kigali, the rebels are trying to
overcome deep divisions among them to form a
united front in their fight against Congolese
President Laurent Kabila.
TEXT: Rebel officials say a host of senior
leaders from the three rebel factions, as well as
delegations from their allies, Rwanda and Uganda,
are gathering in the southern Ugandan town of
Kabale for a meeting due to begin on Friday.
Rwandan officials say the rebels are trying to
unite into a single group with a common army and
a common administration. But bridging the gaps
between the three groups will be no easy task.
Previous efforts to unite the rebels have failed,
with each faction accusing the other of working
for personal or tribal gain instead of working
for the vast country's future.
The war in Congo has drawn in armies from across
the continent since it began in late 1998, with
Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola backing the
government, and Rwanda and Uganda backing various
rebel groups.
Rwanda and Uganda, however, have differed over
how to conduct the war. Each country favors a
separate wing of the Congolese Rally for
Democracy, or R-C-D, which split in two last May.
Now the two allies, which have poured thousands
of troops into Congo since the rebellion began,
want to see the rebels united and say they'll
stay in Kabale as long is it takes to achieve the
task.
Rebel officials say Emile Ilunga, who heads the
Rwandan-backed faction of the R-C-D, will attend
the meeting along with Ernest Wamba dia Wamba,
who heads a splinter R-C-D faction supported by
Uganda. Jean-Pierre Bemba, who heads a separate
rebel faction in northern Congo, is also due to
attend. (SIGNED)
NEB/TP/GE/KL
16-Dec-1999 08:25 AM EDT (16-Dec-1999 1325 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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