Ex-Ninja rebels, gendarmes withdrawn from train escort duties

Former Ninja rebels and units of the national gendarmerie have been withdrawn from escorting train traffic between the capital, Brazzaville, and the port city of Pointe-Noire, the government has announced. In a communiqué published on Saturday, the government said it had given the gendarmerie and Ninjas 72 hours to pull back. The minister for the coordination of government operations, Isidore Mvouba, said the decision had been taken because the Ninjas, formerly loyal to the Reverend Frédéric Bitsangou, had been looting the goods they were supposed to be guarding on the trains. They have also been preventing people from moving about freely. He then directed the army, police and gendarmerie to ensure the harassment be stopped. The communiqué was published after Mvouba held a meeting with officials of Bitsangou's Conseil national de la résistance, the nation's Military High command. They are in charge of the reintegration of ex-combatants into society and the commissar is responsible for the Follow up Committee for Peace and Reconstruction in the Congo, which was established by the government. Just last week, according to Jacky Trimardeau, the director general of the national railway company, which is called Le Chemin de Fer Congo Océan (CFCO), Ninja rebels looted a goods train between Kimbedi and Loulombo in the Pool region. He said they stole 14 mt of cement, oil and petroleum. On 17 March 2003, the government and Bitsangou reaffirmed their commitment to a ceasefire accord signed in December 1999. Despite that, peace has remained elusive along the railway line and the interior of the country where the inhabitants have been prone to violence at the hands of the Ninjas. In January 2003, and following an agreement reached with the railway company, the gendarmerie replaced the army that had been in charge of security. The army had been reputed for its harsh treatment of civilians. Unfortunately, the situation has not improved. The Ninjas have become increasingly aggressive and daring and have been stealing right under the noses of the gendarmes. Throughout French-speaking Africa the gendarmerie is known for its high level of discipline, efficiency and loyalty to the state. "We tried an experiment, but it did not work - but we hope the next one will be better because nobody wants to see CFCO [the railway company] go under, given its importance," Trimardeau told IRIN. Throughout the Congo's many conflicts, railway property has been looted in all four administrative zones through which its trains pass. As a result, the government has had to spend at least six billion francs CFA (US $11.82 million) to rebuild bridges and other facilities. The 510-km railway linking Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire is vital to the nation's economy. The railway also serves the Central African Republic, Chad, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, carrying hydrocarbons, cement, vehicles and other products such as flour, sugar, cocoa, wood and cotton.