/ 8 November 1999

DR CONGO CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS PLAYED DOWN

UGANDA’S Minister of State for Regional Cooperation Amama Mbabazi on Sunday played down the repudiation of a ceasefire pact by one faction involved in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The head of the Ugandan-backed rebel Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), Jean-Pierre Bemba, on Saturday said the ceasefire in DRC is “null and void”, because President Laurent Kabila’s regime has been attacking his forces. Mbabazi statement in support of the ceasefire comes amid fears that the conflict, which has drawn in at least six countries militarily, could resume in spite of the Lusaka accord finally sealed in August.