DATE=6/6/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N-CONGO FIGHTING (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-263233
BYLINE=BRECK ARDERY
DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations Security Council has
formally condemned the latest flare-up of fighting in
Congo-Kinshasa. VOA Correspondent Breck Ardery reports
from the United Nations.
TEXT: The Council was reacting to the latest battles
between Rwandan and Ugandan forces in the Congolese
city of Kisangani. Rwanda and Uganda are backing rival
rebel groups seeking to overthrow Congo President
Laurent Kabila. Fighting in Kisangani earlier this
year ended with Rwanda and Uganda agreeing to
demilitarize the area.
After receiving a briefing on the latest developments
in Congo, the Security Council issued a statement
(Tuesday) calling for a genuine demilitarization of
Kisangani. Council President Jean Levitte of France
said the fighting is a clear violation of last year's
cease-fire agreement that was signed in Lusaka,
Zambia.
///Levitte act///
The members of the Council believe that armed
engagements between the two foreign armies of
Rwanda and Uganda on the territory of the D-R-C
in violation of the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of this country are incompatible with
the Lusaka cease-fire agreement and are
unacceptable.
///end act///
Diplomats say the latest fighting in Congo could
jeopardize a planned deployment of 55-hundred U-N
troops there. The recent problems in Sierra Leone,
where U-N peacekeepers were attacked and taken hostage
by rebels, are believed to be causing some second
thoughts about the Congo mission.
The conflict in Congo is more than an internal matter,
with the governments of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda
backing various rebel groups and the governments of
Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe supporting President
Kabila's government.(Signed)
NEB/UN/BA/LSF/KBK
06-Jun-2000 17:02 PM LOC (06-Jun-2000 2102 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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