Angolans allowed to leave Kisangani

The rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) this week authorised the repatriation of six Angolans to their country, rebel-controlled Goma radio reported on Wednesday. They were among a group of 16 Angolans living in Kisangani. The radio quoted the chairman of the Angolan group as regretting the fact that many people believed the Angolans were connected to DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila. The RCD second vice-president Moise Nyarugabo, who met the Angolans, said Angola was Kabila’s first ally to be “disappointed” by the DRC leader’s behaviour. He believed the RCD’s relations with Angola would be restored to “previous levels”, and said the current repatriation of Angolan nationals was within the framework of “peace, friendship and fraternity”. He urged Angola to avoid responsibility for “any resumption of the war”, adding that Kabila is “an accident in the course of history”. Nyarugabo also called on Angola to repatriate Congolese nationals who wished to return.

Nyarugabo meanwhile has denied that rebel Angolan UNITA forces are fighting alongside the RCD. “How can UNITA troops move from Angola to Kalemie or Moba?” he said in an interview with the BBC Kinyarwanda service. “Where would they pass? The border between Congo and Angola is guarded by Kabila’s soldiers.”