Pepa allegedly looted by rebels

Initial reports indicate that rebel forces attacked civilians and looted the Katanga town of Pepa south of Moba last week, an event which helped trigger the influx of some 4,000 refugees into Zambia, regional analysts told IRIN today. Pepa, 60 km from the Zambian border, also hosted displaced from Moba who had escaped the earlier rebel capture of that town. They were among the new refugee arrivals in Zambia. Around 600 DRC soldiers and policemen who also crossed the border have been disarmed and separated from the refugees, the sources said. A joint Zambian-DRC team is expected to be formed to look into the modalities of their return home. Meanwhile, sources in contact with Kindu in Maniema province told IRIN today that there had been no government attack on the rebel-held town last week and that air connections between Kindu and Goma were operating normally. However, tension in Kindu had increased a few days ago, and one source said clashes with government forces had been reported in the border area between Maniema and Kasai Oriental provinces.