Factions reportedly massing troops in North Kivu

Tension was reported to be still high on Monday in the areas around Rutshuru and Lubero in North Kivu Province as a result of a power struggle between the rival Goma and Kisangani factions of the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD), media sources reported. Strong underlying differences between the factions' respective Rwandan and Ugandan backers in the aftermath of last month's clashes in Kisangani were also fueling tensions, they said. The semi-official Ugandan 'New Vision' newspaper cited Ugandan security sources as saying that at least two Rwandan battalions had been recently deployed north of Rutshuru, in violation of the Lusaka ceasefire accord. The Ugandans and RCD-Kisangani had in turn strengthened their forces at Kanyabayonga, halfway between Rutshuru and Lubero, also in violation of the agreement, it added.

The unrest between the RCD factions was reportedly heightened by the Kisangani grouping's election last week of a new North Kivu governor, Kaisazira Mbaki, to rival the pre-existing provincial governor, Leonard Kanyamuhanga Gafundi, supported by RCD-Goma.