South Africa, a key contributor to the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), expressed deep concern on Friday about renewed violence in that country and called for a ceasefire.
”The South African government appeals to all forces in the DRC to immediately stop fighting” and take part in negotiations, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad told reporters in Pretoria.
President Thabo Mbeki’s special envoy to the DRC, Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi, has been in touch with all concerned parties in the DRC and would travel there as soon as possible to assess the situation.
”While we have some sense of what is going on, I would be the first to admit we do not have the total picture,” said Pahad, adding that much of the gunfire was happening around the South African mission in Kinshasa.
He said that if not stopped immediately, the violence threatened to ”open a Pandora’s box for other people to unleash violence in order to achieve what they believe they failed to get” through the negotiated settlement yielding the current government, said Pahad.
Fighting erupted between army troops and guards of defeated presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba in Kinshasa on Thursday, killing at least two civilians.
Bemba, the former vice-president who lost last year’s presidential election to Joseph Kabila, called for a ceasefire after the fighting prompted residents to flee their homes and schools and for ministries to close.
Bemba was on Friday still at the South African compound in Kinshasa, said Pahad.
Another former rebel leader Azarias Ruberwa was being housed at another ”unspecified mission”, the deputy minister said.
South Africa played a leading role in the DRC peace process, with Mbeki hosting the 2003 signing of a peace deal at the luxury Sun City casino resort north-west of Pretoria.
The country has about 2 000 troops serving in a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC. — AFP
