- The weekend has seen the resumption of heavy fighting between factions of the Congolese army in the province North Kivu in eastern Congo, close to the Rwandan border. At least 100,000 civilians are reported to have fled their homes. Rwanda is not longer accused of having troops in the Congo.
After a relatively calm week in North Kivu, heavy fighting in the troubled province again erupted on Sunday. Loyalist Congolese soldiers had regrouped and attacked the dissident army units associated with the ex-rebel group RCD-Goma. The rebel units were holding the town of Kanyabayonga, which is now heavily fought.
The former rebel group RCD-Goma was sponsored by Rwanda during the bloody 1998-2002 civil war, in which up to four million people were killed. RCD-Goma now forms part of the Kinshasa transitional government and former rebel units are integrated in the new Congolese army. While RCD-Goma leaders in Kinshasa maintain they are not involved in the rebellion, they have confirmed they currently have no control over the combatants.
The dissident army groups holding Kanyabayonga in North Kivu claim they are fighting the Rwandan Interahamwe rebel group, which participated in Rwanda's 1994 genocide and has posed a threat to Rwanda and Congolese Tutsis from eastern Congo since 1994. The rebel army groups claim that Interahamwe fighters are now operating jointly with the loyalist Congolese army units in the Rwandan border region.
Rwanda on several occasions this year has threatened to intervene in eastern Congo if the Kinshasa government did not disarm the Interahamwe fighters, as agreed upon in earlier peace treaties. Rwanda on two occasions has occupied large parts of Congo Kinshasa with the official motive of fighting genocidal groups supported by the Kinshasa government.
This last week raised suspicions of Rwandan troops operating in eastern Congo. The Kinshasa government last week indeed issued a statement saying the fighting in North Kivu was between the Congolese and the Rwandan army, not between factions of the Congolese army.
New reports from the region and from Kinshasa however reject this. No Rwandan soldier has so far been observed on Congolese territory. Furthermore, Rwanda's Foreign Minister Charles Murigande on Sunday withdrew his country's threat to invade eastern Congo in statements to the press in Kigali. The concession follows strong pressure from the international community and indirect threats of sanctions against Rwanda.
Meanwhile, in North Kivu, the loyalist troops of the Congolese government are claiming to make advances against the dissident army units, after having made a "strategic withdrawal" from Kanyabayonga last week. Also in the town Nyabiondo, the dissident army groups were fighting the pro-Kinshasa Mai Mai militia, according to the UN.
The UN, which has a peacekeeping mission (MONUC) in Congo Kinshasa, yesterday further reported that at least 100,000 civilians had fled their homes due to the renewed fighting. "Helicopter reconnaissance flights confirmed that several villages along the road from Kanyabayonga to Lubero are 80 percent empty," the UN's humanitarian agency, OCHA, said.
This is the gravest situation since a transitional government and united army were created in Kinshasa in early 2003. The fighting threatens to stop Congo Kinshasa's transitional process towards peace and democracy, which is to end up in general elections in June 2005. RCD-Goma was one of the strongest rebel groups during the recent civil war and peace cannot be achieved without the ex-rebels' participation.
The RCD-Goma leadership in Kinshasa however is giving strong signals that it remains dedicated to the peace and transition process. In statements late last weeks, the leaders said the army was a national issue, including the ex-rebels, and that they would participate in negotiating a peace between the army factions. A delegation from Kinshasa, which includes former RCD-Goma leaders, is currently trying to negotiate in North Kivu.
The UN is meanwhile concerned over a potential humanitarian disaster in the region, where the fighting is preventing relief supplies from reaching the many in need. "Unless the violence stops immediately, this massive displacement will have disastrous consequences for civilians," said Jan Egeland, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español