/ 13 May 2000

GOVT DEMANDS REBEL CEASEFIRE IN DR Congo

THE commander of pro-government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo has denounced constant attacks by rebel groups in the north and east of the country. “There have been several skirmishes in which rebels supported by Rwanda and Uganda have been incessantly attacking positions held by allied forces,” said General Amoth Chingombe, commander of the Zimbabwean, Angolan and Namibian alliance fighting alongside President Laurent Kabila’s government troops. Chingombe urged the UN Observer Mission in DRC and the Joint Military Commission to advise the rebels and their backers to immediately cease further violations of the peace agreement signed in Lusaka last year. He said Ugandan forces are providing “full support” for the Movement for the Liberation of Congo rebel attacks on government positions in the northern Equateur province and accused three rebel factions of trying to cut supply routes to Allied forces bases. Chingombe made no mention of any allied casualties. Troops from Uganda and Rwanda, who both support the rebel war against Kabila, have themselves clashed repeatedly in the past two weeks around the northeastern city of Kisangani.