OWN CORRESPONDENT, Goma | Friday
HEAVY fighting erupted early on Friday at Bunia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as the country began 30 days of mourning for slain president Laurent Kabila, a UN source said.
“There have been clashes in Bunia since 5:00 this morning. It appears that Lendu (local ethnic) groups are attacking positions around the airport or trying to take the airport,” said the UN source, who did not want to be identified.
“They are using heavy weapons, and the fighting is still going on,” the source said.
Bunia, which is near the Ugandan border, is currently controlled by Jean-Pierre Bemba’s Congo Liberation Front (FLC), one of several Ugandan-backed rebel groups that have been fighting the Kabila regime and amongst each other.
A representative for the main rebel group, the Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy (CRD), confirmed the clashes were taking place but could not provide any details.
Last Tuesday, before Kabila was shot, most of the rebel groups, apart from the RCD-Liberation Movement faction of Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, announced that they had formed a united front.
Bemba said the fighting was caused by “undisciplined” rebels supporting the Lendu, who were trying to get into Bunia.
“In a few days my officers, who have just left, should be able to restore order. We have troops there and we are reinforcing them,” Bemba said.
Meanwhile, former South African president Nelson Mandela said that he was shocked by the assassination of Kabila, but hoped it would jolt the country’s warring parties into seeking peace.
He said he hoped however that Kabila’s death, which was confirmed by Kinshasa on Thursday, would push those involved in the war in DRC to commit themselves to the search for peace.
“Tragic as the violent death of president Kabila is, we trust that this provides the opportunity for the government, the armed opposition and the unarmed opposition in the DRC to sit down as compatriots and place the common good of their country’s people paramount in their considerations.”
Joseph Kabila (31) is the head of the Congolese armed forces. Most recently he was in action in Katanga, presiding over the complete rout of the armed forces by the combined forces of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) and the Rwandan army.
His first task will be to deal with whoever it is that killed his father. If, as seems likely, the killer and his associates are a dissident army faction, he must either purge or co-opt them to maintain power.