Ugandan troop pullout near completion

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday hailed the continued pullout of foreign troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In a statement, he encouraged the governments of Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Angola to continue their pullout in accordance with recent agreements and relevant Security Council resolutions. He also urged them to share all information with the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as MONUC. As at 24 September, MONUC reported that 1,932 troops of the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) had withdrawn from bases in the northeastern DRC city of Beni and the northwestern DRC city of Gbadolite. A remaining 150 troops and three tanks in Gbadolite were expected to have withdrawn by 29 September. By that time Ugandan troops left in DRC would comprise a reinforced battalion in Bunia and a small number on the slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains. The arrangements for the final UPDF withdrawal are set out in the Luanda agreement signed by DRC President Joseph Kabila and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on 6 September. UPDF spokesman Maj Shaban Bantariza told Radio Uganda on Tuesday that the forces being withdrawn from the DRC would be redeployed for other assignments in the country. He added that Uganda was fully committed to the implementation of the Lusaka peace accord aimed at restoring peace in the region. Also as at 24 September, Rwanda had withdrawn some 2,000 troops, according to MONUC. The Rwandan withdrawal from Kindu area was complete, MONUC observers reported, and withdrawals were taking place daily from Katanga Province in southern DRC. "We expect the withdrawal from North and South Kivu [provinces] to commence soon," a statement from MONUC said. Meanwhile, MONUC reported that withdrawals by the Southern African Development Community Task Force - Angola and Zimbabwe - were complete from the northern front locations of Mbandaka and Kananga, with 1,730 soldiers having returned to Zimbabwe. "We expect the complete withdrawal of SADC forces from DRC by the end of October," the MONUC statement said. Another SADC member, Namibia, has withdrawn all its troops, while Angola has maintained a "symbolic" or small number, DRC minister delegate for defence, Irung Awan, told IRIN on Tuesday.