• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

DRC: Political wrangling continues in Bunia

NAIROBI, 13 November (IRIN) - Political wrangling is still continuing in
DRC's northeast Bunia area, with rebel leader Professor Ernest Wamba dia
Wamba contending that his rival Mbusa Nyamwisi has failed to disband his
militiamen who are still "roaming around".

Wamba, who leads the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Mouvement
de liberation (RCD-ML), last weekend survived an attempt to topple him by
his deputy Mbusa Nyamwisi which led to two days of bitter fighting between
the rival factions. Nyamwisi's faction accused Wamba of
"institutionalising ethnic hatred and refusing the collaborate with other
liberation movements".

During talks in Kampala last month, brokered by the Ugandan government,
Wamba said there was an agreement that Nyamwisi's 'Usalama' militia would
be disbanded and the RCD-ML troops would be organised under one battalion
with one commander.

However, Wamba told IRIN on Monday that none of the issues agreed upon had
been implemented, and that the problem was a political one, "pitting a few
individuals who want to enrich themselves against the population".

According to the embattled RCD-ML leader, the 'Usalama' militiamen are
still "roaming around and looting houses". "The UPDF [Uganda People's
Defence Force] has proved that it cannot deal with or curb the insecurity
in the area," Wamba said. For this reason, he did not attend a meeting in
Kampala called by the Ugandan authorities at the weekend to try and bring
the two factions together.

"Was this meeting to resolve the problem of the presence of militias in my
area or to discuss the security of the population?" Wamba asked. "The UPDF
must ensure the security of the population before any negotiations can
take place."

The 'EastAfrican' weekly on Monday said Wamba's refusal to go to Kampala
signalled a growing rift with the Ugandan authorities, despite the Ugandan
army providing protection for the professor in Bunia and restoring him to
power after the attempted coup.

Wamba told IRIN there were "very good people" within UPDF and the entire
army should not be blamed. "Conflicting directives" from various army
officers had "complicated" UPDF operations in the RCD-ML area. Wamba and
his supporters blame certain Ugandan army officers for inciting the unrest
in order to "protect their economic interests" in northeast DRC.