DRC accused of “diversionary tactics”

Burundi has also denied separate accusations made by the Congolese charge d’affaires, Atoki Ileka, in which he says Bujumbura had troops stationed in the towns of Pweto and Kalemie, in the DRC province of Katanga. “My government is in receipt of information concerning the announcement by the government of Burundi of the withdrawal of three of its battalions from the towns of Pweto and Kalemie,” Ileka said in his letter to the Security Council. “This announcement of the withdrawal of elements of the regular army of Burundi is, despite their frequent denials, a clear admission by the authorities of that state of their deep involvement in this vast enterprise of destabilisation in the DRC.”

In his reply, Burundi’s permanent representative to the UN, Marc Nteturuye, firstly denied that his country had ever made such an announcement. “The government of Burundi categorically denies the allegations made in that letter to the effect that Burundi has committed an act of aggression against the DRC,” he said. “Instead of taking actions which are as pointless as they are anachronistic, the charge d’affaires a.i. should have sought to encourage the pursuit of dialogue between his country and ours.” Nteturuye described the comments as a “diversionary tactic”, despite ongoing talks on security issues between the two countries.