Rwanda, Uganda helped Congolese rebels, UN experts say
By Stephanie Aglietti and Max Delany
Posted Tuesday, December 4 2012 at 16:10
Posted Tuesday, December 4 2012 at 16:10
In Summary
According to a report obtained by AFP, United
Nations experts believe hundreds of Rwandan troops took part in the offensive
by the M23 rebels who took Goma, while Uganda provided
"logistics" support.Congolese troops returned to the strategic city of Goma on Monday, in line with a regionally brokered deal, as fresh information surfaced suggesting the rebel takeover of the town was backed by Rwanda and Uganda.
According to a report obtained by AFP, United Nations experts believe hundreds of Rwandan troops took part in the offensive by the M23 rebels who took Goma, while Uganda provided "logistics" support.
Rwanda and Uganda, which neighbour the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile, resource-rich east, have strongly denied involvement in the conflict.
The experts said their new investigation "strongly upholds" previous accusations that the neighbouring countries provided major backing to the rebels, who routed government forces before withdrawing from Goma at the weekend under a ceasefire accord.
The probe heaps more pressure on the Rwandan government over its role in the conflict as it prepares to take up a seat on the UN Security Council on January 1, diplomats said.
The rebels' lightning capture of Goma on November 20 -- eight months after the army mutineers launched an uprising against the government -- had sparked fears of a wider war and major humanitarian crisis. Their withdrawal was widely welcomed.
Dozens of government army trucks crammed with heavily armed soldiers entered the regional capital in the afternoon, after trundling along the shores of Lake Kivu.
A battalion of around 600 men in total is expected to move into Goma, the main city in the mineral-rich Kivu region, while government officials have also begun to arrive back to reassert their authority after 12 days of rebel rule.
While the M23 fighters have left the city, rebels remained camped just beyond the outskirts, appearing to break a deal to pull back 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Goma, with residents fearing renewed clashes as the two sides edge closer.
However, the rebels claim they have not broken any agreement and that the fighters stationed around Goma are still in the process of pulling back.
"Our people are still there because you can only withdraw in stages, that is how it is done," rebel commander Antoine Manzi said.
Ugandan army chief Aronda Nyakairima, speaking after a meeting in Goma with army chiefs of DR Congo and Rwanda, said he was "completely satisfied with the implementation of the accord so far" and that the rebels would fully pull back.
The rebels are demanding talks with the DR Congo government and have threatened to march back into Goma if Kinshasa reneges on a pledge they say was made to start negotiations.
DR Congo Interior Minister Richard Muyej Mangez said the government is ready to start talks "in the next few days", but that the M23 should respect the agreement to withdraw the full 20 kilometres.
"The team for dialogue is already constituted," Mangez told AFP in Goma.
