Museveni reiterates troops pullout

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday reiterated that he was tired of the war in the DRC and was pulling out his troops from that country, a report posted on ‘The Guardian’ website said. He said he would remove his troops from the DRC “in the spirit of the Lusaka peace accord”. Museveni was speaking in Dar es Salaam, after a mini summit attended by DRC’s President Joseph Kabila and hosted by Tanzania’s Benjamin Mkapa. He said that he was in favour of the Lusaka peace accord as the way to restore peace in the DRC. “We have one battalion at Gbadolite, Buta, Bunia and another battalion at the border near the Ruwenzori mountains. We are in the process of moving out,” he said.

Kabila, for his part, said that although he was happy with Museveni’s pledge, he was not satisfied with the presence of foreign troops in his country. “Satisfaction is a big word at this stage. But there will be more meetings like this. This is just the beginning,” Kabila said. He reiterated his call for more UN peacekeeping troops in his country. “We should make sure that we don’t derail the peace process. The UN should strengthen its forces. The present number of 1,500 troops is a joke,” he added. President Mkapa who described the meeting as “good” had arranged it so that the Uganda and DRC could try to iron their differences.