Fighting continues in Equateur Province

MLC leader Jean-Pierre Bemba on Sunday claimed to have recaptured the town of Libanda in Equateur Province. He also said it had retaken key positions near the town of Nkonya, which the Congolese army had earlier captured. Congolese army Colonel David Kolo rejected Bemba’s claims, telling state television that “the named locations are definitely in the hands of the FAC and their allies.” Kinshasa also claimed on Monday that it and its southern African allies had taken Kwalungu in Sud Ubangui region, and recaptured Gwaluru, in Equateur Province, from the MLC. There has been no independent confirmation of the respective claims and counter-claims.

Meanwhile, the UN Observer Mission in the DRC (MONUC) told IRIN on Monday the condition of government-allied forces trapped by RCD rebels in Ikela was unknown, with conflicting reports that a rescue mission was about to break through. “The whole thing, whether a siege or an offensive to rescue them, means the ceasefire is being abused around Ikela,” MONUC spokesman Guy Pickett said. He also said MONUC could not confirm allegations by the Zimbabwean army that a family of seven were killed by rebels in the area of Eshimba, in the eastern province of Kabinda, on 1 January after being accused of informing for allied forces. “At least once a week we get claims of massacres in the local press but we just can’t verify,” Pickett said, pointing to the government’s restrictions on MONUC’s deployment. He said, however, that despite “minor ceasefire violations, there is still an awful lot to play for and there is still every reason to be optimistic.”