CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN Weekly Round-up 44
DRC: Leaders agree on neutral African force
African leaders meeting in Tripoli, Libya, have agreed on the deployment
of a neutral African force in the DRC, according to a statement issued
after the discussions on Wednesday. The summit, chaired by Libyan leader
Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, brought together the presidents of Zimbabwe,
Mali, Rwanda, Uganda and representatives of Angola, the DRC, Namibia and
South Africa. The statement, carried by the Libyan news agency JANA, said
the purpose of the neutral force would be to "guarantee the borders of
Rwanda and Uganda" and assess the size of militia groups active in the DRC
- such as the Interahamwe - ahead of disarming and resettling their
members. Uganda and Rwanda would withdraw their troops from DRC in
accordance with the provisions of the Lusaka peace accord, as would other
foreign forces present in the country. Gadaffi was tasked with following
up the implementation of the agreement.
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda described the meeting as successful,
Ugandan radio reported. He explained that the neutral African force would
replace all foreign armies currently in the DRC and "regretted" that such
a force had not been provided by the UN. "The neutral force will be duty
bound to deal with the armed vagabonds who have been disturbing the region
from their sanctuaries in the Congo," Museveni was quoted as saying.
Rwanda commented that it had "repeatedly called on the international
community to provide cast-iron security guarantees" against cross-border
attacks by DRC-based militias. "Rwanda is committed to a complete
withdrawal from the DRC once these guarantees have been provided in
accordance with the Lusaka agreement," presidential press secretary
Nicholas Shalita said in a statement received by IRIN on Thursday.
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