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Rebels considering how best to demilitarise town

Meanwhile, in response, the RCD is considering how best to demilitarise Kisangani, RCD spokesman Kin Key Mulumba told AFP on Thursday. The RCD “has never rejected the principle of demilitarising Kisangani, but we have always made known our concerns in our capacity as Congolese,” AFP quoted Mulumba as saying. “We are still studying, with the Security Council, the modalities of this demilitarisation, which will take into account the security of Kisangani and its population,” he added. “We have strengthened our political presence, but there is still a problem with our military presence, which is a totally different problem,” he added when asked to comment on the rebels’ alleged plans to bolster their presence in the town.

Mulumba said he had assured Ambassador Kamel Morjane of MONUC during a meeting on Saturday that the RCD would indeed leave the town. “Kisangani now lives in peace and the foreign forces have left the city. We have always been the party most respectful of Security Council resolutions and we intend to remain so,” AFP quoted Mulumba as saying.


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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