US concerned over “growing Libyan involvement”

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice has said recent developments in the DRC crisis suggest a shift towards a negotiated, rather than a military, solution to the conflict. In a briefing to a Senate subcommittee on African affairs this week, she took note of the recent Sirte accord, the withdrawal of Chadian troops and a “general avoidance” of fighting by Uganda, along with Rwanda’s unilateral ceasefire declaration. Speaking ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Lusaka later this month, she said Zambian President Frederick Chiluba and the SADC initiative had become the “accepted vehicle” for ending the conflict. With regard to US interests however, she expressed concern over “growing Libyan involvement” in the DRC, as well as Sudan “using the cover of its support for the Congo to provide additional aid to insurgent groups in Uganda”.

Reiterating support for SADC and OAU regional initiatives, she said the solution would ultimately have to be found by Africans themselves. All those involved in the DRC crisis were at a “perilous crossroads”, and must decide “whether to continue on the present violent path...or work in concert to find a viable diplomatic solution”.