1. Home
  2. Africa
  3. DRC

Kinshasa slams Rwandan army "infiltration" of Ituri

Country Map - DRC (Bunia) IRIN
This most recent round of armed hostilities followed the weekend theft and destruction of some 300,000 doses of various vaccines
Kinshasa has condemned the Rwandan army's presence in the Ituri region of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), saying it must withdraw. "We have observed the infiltration of Rwanda in Ituri, from where we are awaiting the withdrawal of Ugandan troops as soon as possible," Luaba Ntumba, the DRC's minister for human rights, told reporters on Monday. His denunciation came during the opening of a peace conference for Ituri being held in the DRC capital, Kinshasa. The government has flown 24 regional leaders and traditional chiefs from Ituri to Kinshasa to attend the meeting - aimed at ending repeated outbreaks of inter-ethnic hostilities in the country's northeast. Fighting among different ethnic groups in the Ituri city of Bunia from 5 to 9 August resulted in at least 110 deaths. The Hema, a traditionally pastoral people, and the Lendu, a traditionally agricultural people, have frequently clashed over leadership in the region. Hema and Lendu community representatives, and those of other groups, called for the restoration of state authority in the region to end the secular conflicts being "manipulated by different rebel factions and their Ugandan sponsors", Ntumba said. On 21 August, Ambassador Amos Namanga Ngongi, the special representative of the UN secretary-general to the DRC, told reporters that underlying political and economic interests drove the conflicts in Bunia. "Everyone is convinced that this is not only an ethnic problem," he said. The recent accord between Kinshasa and Kampala on the withdrawal of Ugandan troops was a major point of disagreement between the Lendus and the Hemas at the opening of the conference. "Uganda must withdraw its troops and leave the Congolese to work things out amongst themselves, [then] the fighting will end automatically," Thewi Batsi Larry, a Lendu delegate, said. He said Uganda was arming the Hema to attack nine other ethnic groups in Ituri. However, Kisengo Bitambara, a Hema chief, said, "Uganda must remain in place, because without them, there is a risk of a genocide." Only two traditional chiefs with real authority in their communities are participating in this conference. Other principal leaders of ethnic groups involved in the conflict chose to boycott the event in favour of meetings due to be organised in Ituri. "We will hold other meetings there after the conclusion of this conference in an effort to involve everyone," Ntumba said.

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

Share this article

Get the day’s top headlines in your inbox every morning

Starting at just $5 a month, you can become a member of The New Humanitarian and receive our premium newsletter, DAWNS Digest.

DAWNS Digest has been the trusted essential morning read for global aid and foreign policy professionals for more than 10 years.

Government, media, global governance organisations, NGOs, academics, and more subscribe to DAWNS to receive the day’s top global headlines of news and analysis in their inboxes every weekday morning.

It’s the perfect way to start your day.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian today and you’ll automatically be subscribed to DAWNS Digest – free of charge.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join