Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila on Tuesday ordered all troops to return to barracks in a bid to restore calm to the country’s capital, Kinshasa, after three days of fighting between his forces and armed supporters of his main presidential rival.
A presidential spokesperson also called on armed groups loyal to Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba, Kabila’s presidential opponent, to ”return to their positions immediately” in order to end the conflict, according to Radio France Internationale.
Fighting between members of president Kabila’s presidential guard and armed supporters of Bemba erupted on Sunday after the country’s Independent Electoral Commission announced official results of last month’s presidential polls.
The DRC held its first multiparty polls in the past 40 years on July 29. Kabila won nearly 45% of the presidential vote, followed by former rebel warlord Bemba’s second-place showing of 20%.
The two will now face each other in a second-round run-off expected to be held in late October.
United Nations peacekeepers assisted by European Union troops evacuated 14 foreign envoys from Bemba’s lakeside residence after it came under heavy attack from suspected members of Kabila’s presidential guard overnight.
The ambassadors, members of the international committee overseeing the country’s transition to multiparty rule, were holding talks with Bemba when the attack occurred.
While there is a reported tense calm in Kinshasa, the EU reinforced its peacekeeping troops on Tuesday with about 400 Dutch and German troops from neighbouring Gabon to bolster Monuc (the UN mission in the DRC) and EU troops already in the city who have taken control of all UN and EU buildings, the main Ndole airport and the diplomatic residential areas.
The head of Monuc, William Swing, who was part of the delegation that was trapped in Bemba’s home late on Monday, met Kabila earlier on Tuesday and called for both parties to rein in their armed supporters.
The EU head of humanitarian affairs, Louis Michel, also appealed for the two presidential contenders to allow for voters to decide through the ballot box.
While it was not clear which camp initiated the Monday shelling of Bemba’s residence, the EU has appealed for calm between the two powerful rivals, who both command large and well-armed militias.
Belgian carrier SN Brussels Airlines has cancelled its flights from Brussels to Kinshasa due to the escalating fighting, which has killed at least 25 people in the past three days. — Sapa-dpa