OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kisangani | Tuesday 11.00pm.
WITH five attempts at peace mediation now failed, the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading to pull in countries throughout the region.
Sudan has sent 2,000 soldiers to bolster DRC President Laurent Kabila’s forces in the forward military headquarters of Kindu in eastern DRC, according to the DRC rebels seeking to topple Kabila. At the same time Belgium has accused the Tutsi-led regime in Burundi of sending trops into the Uvira region to back the rebels.
A spokesperson for Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir confirmed on SABC3 that Sudan has entered the fray, prompted by incursions by Sudanese rebels into Sudan from bases in northern Uganda.
Burundi has so far made no comment about its involvement.
Rwanda has meanwhile reiterated its threat that it will wage open war against Kinshasa to prevent “destabilisation”. Rwandan Vice-President Paul Kagame, who has made the threat before, said that on Monday the Rwandan city of Gisenyi had come under attack. Gisenyi is directly across the border from Goma, the rebel stronghold where heavy fighting took place on Monday. Kagame again accused Kabila of having allied himself with the Hutu militias, or Interhamwe, who were responsible for genocide in Rwanda in 1994 in which up to a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will address parliament on Wednesday on Uganda’s security situation.
Meanwhile the rebels claim to have killed about 300 attackers in the battle for Goma on Monday. Although Kinshasa insists the attackers were regular DRC forces, the rebels say they comprised mostly Congolese Mai-Mai warriors and Rwandan Interhamwe. The Interhamwe came over the border from the Rwandan prefectures of Ruhengeri and Gisenyi, a rebel spokesperson said.