Prisoner of war agreement signed

Parties involved in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday signed an agreement in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, paving the way for the release and exchange of prisoners of war (POWs).

A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told IRIN it was now up to each of the governments involved to notify it of the number and the names of the POWs they are holding so it can help arrange their release.

He said the ICRC could not disclose the number of POWs involved because it was up to the governments themselves to disclose their numbers and identities. But he confirmed ICRC officers had been visiting Rwandan POWs detained in Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean soldiers held captive in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

Last September, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola and Chad sent troops to assist the government of President Laurent-Desire Kabila against Rwandan and Ugandan-backed rebels. A senior government official in Harare disclosed to IRIN last week that Zimbabwe was holding 300 rebel POWs at base camps in Congo, and a further 49 Rwandese POWs in Zimbabwe itself. He said 36 Zimbabwean POWs were held in Rwanda and that Zimbabwe was “satisfied with the ICRC visits to our men held there”.

The ICRC said that during the past 10 days, it had helped repatriate three of the Zimbabweans from Kigali on medical grounds.

“We have reminded the Lusaka signatories of their obligations towards POWs under the Geneva Convention and we are now awaiting their lists of persons detained,” he said.