Uganda, Zimbabwe begin withdrawing troops

Uganda and Zimbabwe have begun withdrawing their troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Hamadoun Toure, spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, or MONUC, said at a news conference on Wednesday. He said Uganda had withdrawn 242 troops from Beni in the northeastern North Kivu Province, and some of its troops in Gbadolite, in the northwestern province of Equateur. Meanwhile, he said, Zimbabwe had withdrawn entirely from the city of Kananga in Kasai Occidental Province. A definitive number of soldiers withdrawn by the two countries had not yet been established. However Toure said, "MONUC plans on conducting a count to determine the total number of soldiers withdrawn." Since 2 August 1998, Uganda and Rwanda have been involved in armed opposition to the Kinshasa government. Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia have backed Kinshasa. The DRC recently signed separate agreements with neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda providing for the withdrawal of their remaining troops in the DRC.