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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Tuesday 28 September 2004

DRC: Rival military commanders make peace

KINSHASA, 28 Sep 2004 (IRIN) - Commanders of two military regions of North and South Kivu provinces, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, agreed on Monday to stop fighting, a military spokesman said.

The spokesman for the 10th Military Region based in South Kivu, Lt Kasanda Wa Kasanda, said the agreement was the result of a weeklong visit to the region by the chief of the nation's land forces, General Major (equivalent to Maj-Gen) Sylvain Buki who is still in the DRC eastern region. He is touring in the region in a bid to end clashes between the 8th and the 10th military regions.

Buki summoned both Brig-Gen Mbuza Mabe, commander of the 10th, and Obed Rwibasira of the 8th to the town of Minova, in North Kivu Province, on Monday to broker the agreement. Both men had refused to coordinate their military actions and had their respective forces fighting each other over control of some localities near the town of Minova in South Kivu, near the border with North Kivu.

"Some level of understanding has been reached between us. We have found a way to settle our differences in line with the wishes of the chief of staff of the ground forces, Maj-Gen Buki.
The military will respect their territorial jurisdictions that lie along the provincial boundaries or North and South Kivu," Mabe said.

The 10th Military Region had accused the 8th (Goma) of having attacked Kalehe, 70 km northeastern of Bukavu, in South Kivu, last week. Several days later soldiers of the Bukavu headquarters seized control from army dissidents Laurent Nkunda and Jules Mutebutsi. Rwibasira, Nkunda and Mutsbutsi are all members of the former rebel movement, the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCD), which at one time or another during the five-year war controlled North and South Kivu.

"From now on soldiers of the 10th Military Region who will be in Minova, situated in the north of South Kivu, will be taking orders from the 10 Military Region and those who are in North Kivu will be given orders from the 8th Military Region," Mabe said.

[ENDS]

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