Rift reported in RCD-ML rebel faction

A serious spilt has emerged within the Ugandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie - Mouvement de liberation (RCD-ML) headed by Professor Wamba dia Wamba, according to news and military reports. The Ugandan independent 'Monitor' newspaper on Thursday reported that Wamba
had been ousted by his own officials, led by the group's 'minister of finance' Mbogemu Atenyi Tibasima and 'prime minister' Mbusa Nyamwisa, and was currently in the Ugandan capital Kampala. Wamba himself was not contactable. Whether he had been ousted or not, tensions were high within the leadership of the RCD-ML due partly to the handling of the ethnic
conflict between the Hema and Lendu peoples that has led to the death of thousands of people in Ituri district, a senior Ugandan military official told IRIN on Thursday. Tibasima wanted Wamba to condemn the Lendu "for committing genocide" against the Hema people but Wamba had refused since there had been killings by both parties to the conflict, he said. Nyamwisa
considered that he was popular enough among his people, the Nande, that he could do lead the RCD-ML without Wamba's input, the official added. Wamba was last year last year replaced by Emile Ilunga as leader of the main Congolese rebel movement, the RCD, backed by Rwanda. He defected from the mainstream Goma-based RCD with a cohort of officials and supporters, established himself in Kisangani and renamed the faction the RCD-ML. The
faction subsequently moved its headquarters to Bunia. The Ugandan military on Thursday refused to comment on recent reports that 2,000 RCD-ML recruits were receiving military training from the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) at the Ugandan base of Singo. The UPDF was training the RCD Bunia faction in anticipation of a time when it would have to withdraw its own troops from the DRC, 'The Indian Ocean Newsletter' reported in its latest issue. RCD-ML officials were undertaking political orientation and administration courses, as well as paramilitary training, the regional diplomacy newsletter stated.