450 more Congolese refugees arrive

A further 450 Congolese refugees crossed into Uganda on Monday, alongside the last departing battalion of the Ugandan army. Looking exhausted and tatty, the refugees waded knee-deep through the thick swampland of Rwebisingo, Bundibugyo District, carrying few possessions. On 19 May, Ugandan troops in the northern sector of Ituri District completed their withdrawal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This left troops in the southern sector of Ituri still retreating to Uganda. The battalion withdrawn on Monday was the last, according to international observers. Several observers, including those from the UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, and the military attaches of diplomatic missions to Uganda from Britain, the United States, South Africa and Russia, were flown in by helicopter to oversee the final pullout. "That's it," Lt-Col Chris Wilton, the British military attache, told IRIN. "I was in Nebbi a couple of weeks ago and I saw the withdrawal of Uganda's four battalions from the north. This is now the fourth and last battalion from the south of Ituri." At the same time, a French delegation of five senior military officials arrived in Uganda on Monday to discuss the use of Entebbe airport as a base for peacekeeping operations in Ituri. The French first consul to Uganda, Yves Drillet, told IRIN that the team, led by French Director of African Affairs Bruno Joubert, had met Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. "We discussed the mission in Bunia [the principal town of Ituri] and the technicalities of transit to and from Entebbe," Drillet said. "We also delivered the [UN] Security Council resolution 1484 to them and explained that this is a multinational, not a French, effort." He added that Rwandan officials had already arrived in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, to participate in discussions and had indicated that they had no problem with Uganda being used as a base for the multinational force. "After that, they [French officials] went to Kinshasa [the DRC capital] and will fly to Paris for further discussions," Drillet told IRIN. He added: "This operation is transparent. Everyone knows that Entebbe has been chosen because it is the most logical choice." The first elements of the force, he said, would be coming "as early as the end of this week and some will be deployed next week". The force will involve Britain, France and South Africa, amongst others. Drillet said that Belgium, the former colonial power in the DRC, was also in the process of making an offer. "We don't yet know who will be giving troops or airplanes or what," he said. Wilton told IRIN that a reconnaissance team from Britain was due to arrive in Uganda on Wednesday to assess the role that Britain would play in the multinational force. "I have no details on exactly what we'll be providing, but I have no doubt that we'll contribute something," he said.