Soccer match sign of thawing relations

Ugandan Members of Parliament overcame their Rwandan counterparts 3-2 on Saturday in a football match considered symbolic of thawing relations between the two countries. The Rwanda News Agency (RNA) reported on Friday that the match had been arranged following talks between Ugandan MPs and their Rwandan counterparts on "how to further strengthen the already existing relations between the two countries". Relations between the erstwhile allies soured after their armies clashed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the late 1990s. Since then, both countries have also been accusing each of harbouring dissidents. The football match was organised by the Interparliamentary Union that was established in 1999 "to find ways of strengthening cooperation", RNA reported.