Zimbabwe begins troop withdrawal

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (known as MONUC) confirmed on Thursday that Zimbabwean troops have begun their withdrawal from the country, with 150 soldiers leaving Mbandaka, western DRC, on Wednesday night. Three battalions of around 2,400 soldiers remained scattered among the cities of Boende, Bolomba, Mbandaka and Buburu, in Equateur province, MONUC said in a statement. The Zimbabwean army - which has been fighting alongside government forces against rebel groups for the last four years - began withdrawing its equipment and a small contingent of troops on 3 September from Kananga, in the province of Kasai-Occidental. The withdrawals are in line with the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement and various Security Council resolutions demanding the pullout of all foreign forces from Congolese territory. Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Uganda are now the only countries with a considerable number of troops left in the DRC. Uganda withdrew 1,800 soldiers this week from the cities of Beni and Gbadolite, leaving a further 2,000 stationed in Bunia, in the northeast of the country. "We encourage all the other parties to accelerate the process of peace in the region. We believe that before long, the presence of foreign troops will be but a dream," said the UN Special Representative for the DRC, Amos Ngongi. The Congolese government entered into separate peace deals at the end of July and mid-August with Rwanda and Uganda, whereby they reaffirmed their commitment to withdrawing their forces.