All foreign troops out by August, Namibia says

Namibian President Sam Nujoma has said all foreign troops will be withdrawn from the DRC by the end of August, the Namibian news agency NAMPA reported. Addressing a reception on Sunday in honour of returning Namibian soldiers, he said the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) had played a “major role in preventing Kinshasa from being captured by Ugandan and Rwandan forces and their rebel elements”. “We, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states comprising of Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe decided to positively respond to the request of the legitimate government of the DRC under the leadership of the late President Laurent-Desire Kabila, when his country and people were threatened with death and destruction by the rebel forces supported by Rwanda and Uganda,” he said. ‘The Namibian’ newspaper, in a commentary, asked whether Namibia’s involvement in the DRC “was worth the human price”. It also said the financial cost may never be known “but it has undoubtedly cost us a great deal”.