Uganda will keep troops in DRC despite Annan’s plea

Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) spokesman Lt-Col Phinehas Katirima on Sunday said that some of Uganda’s troops will remain in the DRC, despite a strong call by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Saturday that foreign troops should move out immediately, according to Ugandan daily newspaper The Monitor. The UPDF will maintain one battalion in Bunia and two battalions at the slopes of the Ruwenzori mountains in eastern DRC “until a peace agreement is reached within the framework of the Lusaka peace process,” Katirima was quoted as having said, noting that Uganda has thus far withdrawn 10 battalions. “The rest would await the deployment of the UN force, the Congolese dialogue that would put in place a stable government and the disarmament of the ex-FAR [Rwandan Armed Forces], which are all within the framework of the Lusaka peace agreement,” The Monitor quoted Katirima as saying.