Katanga fighting means Kabila “has buried accord”, rebels say

Heavy fighting between Congolese government troops and Rwandan-backed rebels is reportedly raging at Pepa, in the southeast province of Katanga. “[DRC President Laurent-Desire] Kabila’s troops and his allies attacked us on Tuesday at Pepa, but we managed to push them back,” Major Emmanuel Ndahiro, Rwandan presidential adviser on security issues, told IRIN on Wednesday. “This attack on our legitimate positions, recognised by the Lusaka agreement is a setback to the peace process because we cannot predict what is going to follow.” Congolese rebel officials of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) also confirmed the fighting. “They attacked us on Tuesday using helicopters, tanks and infantry, and fighting continued through the night until they ran away,” RCD-Goma’s security chief Bizima Karaha said. “We are definitely going to pay back. This has put the peace process in jeopardy.” He added this was not surprising “because Kabila said the Lusaka agreement was dead”. “He has buried the accord,” Karaha said. The southern front has not experienced major fighting since the signing of the Lusaka agreement last year. Security sources told IRIN that Congolese government troops have deployed more than two battalions between Kalemie and Moba, an area controlled by Rwandan and RCD-Goma troops. In recent months fighting has been limited to northwest DRC where the Ugandan-backed Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) is fighting government troops.