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Pweto taken by pro-government Mayi-Mayi forces

Country Map - DRC IRIN
The DRC
    NAIROBI

    Government-allied Mayi-Mayi militia fighters seized the town of Pweto, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Thursday, pushing out Rwandan-backed rebels Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD), a spokesman for the UN Mission in the DRC, Hamadoun Toure, told IRIN.

    He said four members of the RCD police force died in the assault on the town, nestled on the shores of Lake Mweru, in the southeast of the country. The RCD administrator and his deputy fled with their families to neighbouring Zambia.

    "MONUC has two observer teams on the ground, comprising eight people, and we are currently consulting with all parties to the Lusaka peace agreement to find a peaceful solution to this," he said.

    Pweto was now a Forces armees congolaises (FAC - the government army) declared position, he added, and it would be administered and policed by the government of President Joseph Kabila. In March 2002, the United Nations Security Council demanded that the RCD withdraw its forces from Pweto, in line with the Kampala and Harare disengagement plans - introduced in 2000 - to allow for the demilitarisation of the town.

    "All parties must accept to abide by the Kampala agreement, accepting that it is an FAC position," said Toure.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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