Congolese rebel groups face off

Humanitarian sources in Kisangani told IRIN that tension persisted in the city following reports that rival Congolese rebel groups were amassing troops to fight for control of the city following the departure of their Rwandan and Ugandan allies. The Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) has stated that it will stay in Kisangani after the Uganda and Rwanda withdraw. “We are Congolese and we have a right to protect our people and their property, and this has been made clear to everybody concerned,” RCD-Goma spokesman Kin-Kiey Mulumba told IRIN. The movement declared an earlier agreement with MONUC for the RCD to withdraw “null and void”, he said. Meanwhile, the Mouvement de Liberation du Congo (MLC) controlled Radio Liberte has been persistently calling on the local population to rise against the Rwandans and the RCD-Goma “puppets”, while the MLC was also said to be amassing troops near Kisangani to take over the town, according to humanitarian sources. “We are totally committed to the demilitirisation of the city of Kisangani. Our troops have withdrawn. Radio Liberte is not causing any tension, it is just mobilising people for development-oriented activities,” its leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba told IRIN on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Rwanda has said it no longer has any interest in Kisangani: “We have put Kisangani behind us, if there is a problem let it be a Congolese affair without the involvement of foreigners,” Rwandan spokesman Joseph Bideri told IRIN.