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Rival governorships exacerbate RCD tensions

    NAIROBI
    Ernest Wamba dia Wamba's faction of the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) has elected a new "governor" for North Kivu province, rivalling the office of governor Leonard Kanyamuhanga Gafundi who is supported by the RCD-Goma faction, news agencies said on Thursday. The Wamba-allied governor, Kaisazire Mbaki, will be based in Beni. His appointment has again increased tensions between the two factions and threatened to lead to conflict in areas between their provincial strongholds, the semi-official Ugandan newspaper 'New Vision' reported. Wamba's spokesman, Suddin bin Museme, was quoted as saying the decision to hold the election for governor was taken in response to the recent treaty between RCD-Goma and Kigali that effectively "annexed" parts of the DRC to Rwanda. While Wamba's faction dominated Beni, Bunia and Isiro, and the Goma faction of Emile Ilunga dominated Bukavu, Goma and Rutshuru, tension and civilian fear of clashes were high in areas of potential contest like Mapenga, Kamande, Luofu, Kabasha and Bulindi, the 'New Vision' reported.

    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

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