Kampala denies initiating clashes

Uganda was on Friday widely blamed for starting the clashes in Kisangani, a charge it has refuted. “The US strongly condemns this morning’s attacks by Ugandan forces against Rwandan army troops ... They are a violation of DRC sovereignty and a clear violation of the Lusaka (peace) agreement ... We note that these actions could have a significant impact on US-Ugandan bilateral relations,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Friday. The Belgian government also condemned the Kisangani fighting, which it said was “apparently at the initiative of Ugandan forces,” and Deputy Prime Minister Foreign Minister Louis Michel had officials appeal to Rwanda to show restraint, according to a press release. Lieutenant-Colonel Akram Hossain, who heads the UN monitoring team in Kisangani, confirmed to IRIN the Ugandan army began shelling Rwandan and rebel RCD positions at 4am on Friday morning.

Uganda’s National Political Commissar James Wapakhabulo said Rwandan troops had first surrounded UPDF troops, without provocation, at Simsim Airport and then fired on them as they withdrew to try to link up with Uganda’s main force at Kapalata, Radio Uganda reported. Rwanda had also deployed additional troops in Kisangani without informing the UPDF, in violation of an agreement between the parties after clashes last August, Wapakhabulo said. Kampala also claimed that UPDF commander Major General Jeje Odongo had tried for seven days without success to contact his Rwandese counterpart in order to avert such a crisis. Wapakhabulo said Uganda was employing all diplomatic, political and military contacts to resolve the problem, and would keep its population and the international community briefed about these developments.