Namibia will not send troops despite continued insecurity

Namibia will not send its troops back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) despite renewed fighting among the Rwandan-backed armed opposition Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), Rwandan Hutu Interahamwe forces and Congolese Mayi-Mayi militias, 'The Namibian' newspaper reported on Wednesday. Namibian Defence Ministry spokesman Frans Nghitila told the daily on Tuesday that Namibia had accomplished its mission in the DRC by successfully preventing the RCD from taking over the government, and that all Namibian troops and equipment had now been withdrawn under the 1999 Lusaka cease-fire agreement. "Our involvement was to create a conducive environment for elections. That we have achieved and I don't foresee us going back. The rebels must just come to their senses," he said. Nevertheless, Nghitila said Namibia was disturbed by the latest fighting which pointed to serious violations of the cease-fire. He urged the RCD to "give peace a chance". On Saturday, the RCD announced it had recaptured the strategic eastern town of Fizi, on the northwestern shore of Lake Tanganyika, after a week of heavy clashes with a coalition of forces from the Interahamwe, Mayi-Mayi, and the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) Hutu rebels from Burundi who had seized it last month. The fighting in Fizi and to the northwest in the town of Kindu in the last week represents the most serious breach of the cease-fire accord in the DRC in several months, and come just days before the beginning of the inter-Congolese peace talks among representatives of the DRC government, armed and unarmed opposition, and civil society organisations is due to begin in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 'The Namibian' recalled that when DRC President Joseph Kabila visited Windhoek in August, President Sam Nujoma said that although the withdrawal of forces had begun, Namibia remained ready to assist in the event of any failure on the part of the international community to ensure the successful deployment of UN peacekeeping forces.