Wamba faction asks Uganda’s help to “neutralise” militias

The Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Mouvement de liberation (RCD-ML) of Professor Ernest Wamba dia Wamba has called on Uganda to help in “neutralising” militias in northeastern DRC. In a statement issued after a meeting of the group’s political leadership in Kampala, the RCD-ML said it welcomed the “orderly withdrawal” of Ugandan troops from the area, but called for creating a joint team to “create favourable conditions” for the pullout. The RCD-ML “drew the attention of its ally to help in neutralising militias and to discourage individuals who may want to create more [militias]”. It also called for the creation of a commission to study the “Mayi-Mayi phenomenon” and find a “definitive and comprehensive solution”. Wamba’s RCD-ML reiterated its opposition to the constitution of the Front de liberation du Congo (FLC), led by Jean-Pierre Bemba, an alliance bringing together rebel groups in the Bunia region, including a faction of the RCD-ML opposed to Wamba. At the weekend, heavy fighting broke out between members of the FLC in Beni. “The objective of the merger has to be that of bringing peace and not war in the DRC,” the statement said. “Consequently RCD-ML has proposed that the FLC be revisited.” It also called for the immediate release of RCD-ML officials, currently imprisoned in Bunia, Beni and Butembo for “having expressed opinions contrary to those of the MLC [Jean-Pierre Bemba’s Mouvement de liberation du Congo, which forms part of the FLC]”.