Troops ready to disengage

Zimbabwe defence ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that its 11,000 troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) would begin to disengage from frontline positions from Thursday to enable implementation of the Lusaka ceasefire agreement, but that no date had been set for a full withdrawal. "What happens after 15 March is crucial, all sides need to disengage and humanitarian corridors can then be established," Colonel Mbonisi Gatsheni told IRIN. "The UN must deploy and we can start exchanging prisoners, only then can we start thinking about withdrawing from the DRC," he added. UN observers in the DRC called on Wednesday for a peaceful start to the planned disengagement of warring forces from the front lines in the two and half year-old conflict, AFP reported. The UN Observer Mission in the DRC (MONUC) called on government, rebel and foreign forces to "avoid any military action" that might hamper the operation, set to begin on Thursday and last two weeks. Gatsheni emphasised that Zimbabwe's forces had been invited into the DRC by Kinshasa and that they were likely to remain until formally asked to leave. Gatsheni said he couldn't comment on reports that some Zimbabwean troops would stay on in the DRC to persue business interests. The conflict, which broke out in August 1998, pits DRC government forces backed by Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia against rebel factions supported by Rwanda and Uganda. There has only been one serious clash since the disengagement agreement was signed in December in Harare and followed up by an agreement at UN headquarters in New York in February. Under the agreement, the belligerents are to withdraw 15km from their front lines in the first stage of a full withdrawal. MONUC will begin verifying the disengagement after the two-week period lapses. Uganda and Rwanda have already begun redeploying their forces away from combat zones. Martin Rupiya, a Zimbabwean defence analyst, told IRIN that Zimbabwe's exit strategy from the DRC remained linked to UN deployment and the withdrawal of Uganda and Rwanda. "There seems to be more goodwill and confidence around the Lusaka agreement right now than ever before, it would be difficult for Zimbabwe to justify staying in DRC if all the other belligerents pull out," Rupiya said.