Libya denies sending in troops

Libya has denied allegations by the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last week accusing it of sending troops and military equipment into DRC territory along the border with the Central African Republic (CAR).

A statement made by the Libyan General People's Committee for African Unity quoted by the Libyan news agency, Jana, on Saturday said Libya "had no forces or equipment of any kind in these areas". It said the country "had been and was still working to establish peace and achieve national reconciliation in the DRC", which included its involvement in "numerous initiatives" and several African mini-summits in this respect.

On 13 December, the DRC government reportedly wrote to the UN Security Council asking it to condemn Libya's action and to demand the immediate withdrawal of its troops from DRC territory.

This followed an accusation on 11 December by Vital Kamerhe, the commissioner-general of the DRC government in charge of the peace process in the Great Lakes region, who said the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) rebel group - which was being aided by Libya - had heavy weapons, tanks and artillery stationed in Gbadolite in preparation for an attack on the capital, Kinshasa.

The Libyan statement acknowledged the presence of a limited number of Libyan soldiers in the CAR in response to a request of the CAR government and in accordance with a decision taken by the Community of the Sahel-Saharan States and the African Union. It added, however, that these troops would be withdrawn "in the next few days" after being replaced by forces of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa.