Ugandan troops pull back from frontline in Congo

By M. S. Prabhakara

CAPE TOWN, MARCH 20. The process of disengagement of foreign troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has begun with troops from Rwanda pulling back 15 km from their forward positions. The President of Rwanda, Mr. Paul Kagame, who held discussions with his South African counterpart, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, in Pretoria on Saturday confirmed that Rwandan forces were ``pulling back''. Rwanda is believed to have about 20,000 army personnel in the DRC while Uganda has 10,000. Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia which have sent in their forces in support of the DRC Government are believed to have, respectively, 7,000, 2,000 and 12,000 troops. The agreement on the limited pullback involves all foreign troops.

Ugandan troops had begun their pullback even earlier. The Ugandan President, Mr. Yoweri Museveni, had announced, even before the present pullback began, that his country would withdraw troops from the DRC even if there was no agreement on the issue. In a recent interview, Mr. Museveni said the ``bilateral aims of Uganda'', meaning its own security concerns insofar as they arise from the ``Allied Democratic Forces'', a rebel group believed to be close to the former President, Idi Amin, and operating in the west and north of the country bordering on the DRC and Sudan, had been taken care of with the recent victories against the ADF forces in the west.

As for the residual problems - ``the Interahamwe, the Hutu of Burundi, Congo itself, Angola, etc.'' - Mr. Museveni said Uganda could contribute to their solution only if there was a consensus.

Though seemingly united about their ``security concerns'' and for a while allied on their intervention in the DRC, the strategic objectives of Uganda and Rwanda have always been different. While the long term ``security interests'' of Rwanda envisage the creation of an autonomous and friendly enclave in eastern DRC, Uganda's concerns have been limited to the perceived threats from the rebel groups operating from the west and north.

The pullback falls well short of real withdrawal from the DRC territory where they have been deeply entrenched for long. Indeed, troops from Uganda and Rwanda have had their own pitched battles in and around Kisangani, deep inside the DRC territory.

Meanwhile, the process of ``inter-Congolese dialogue'' envisaged in the Lusaka Accord, which has never begun though it should have been completed by the end of November 1999, has been activated. The DRC President, Mr. Joseph Kabila, has invited Sir Ketumile Masire, former President of Botswana and facilitator of this process, for talks in Kinshasa.

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Section  : International
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