REBELS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said on Tuesday they would withdraw their troops this week from the disputed diamond city of Kisangani along with Ugandan and Rwandan forces. But Kin-Kiey Mulumba, spokesman for the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), said rebels would reserve the right to defend the town from any attack by government troops. Rwanda and Uganda, whose armies clashed in Kisangani earlier this month, on Sunday hammered out details of their own withdrawal from the city, also set to begin on Thursday. Rwanda and Uganda are the driving force behind three rebel factions which occupy the northern and eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But relations between the long-time allies soured last year after differences arose over how to conduct the war and each side began to privately accuse the other of exploiting the country’s mineral wealth.