Fighting between rebels and pro-government forces opened up a new front in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), as southern African nations said they were ready to send in peacekeepers.
As Kinshasa warned it may deploy Angolan troops, raising fears of igniting the volatile Great Lakes region, the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said it was prepared to provide assistance to the government’s armed forces.
The clashes on the borders of the two provinces of Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu started before dawn on Sunday and prompted thousands of people to flee, the UN said.
PHOTO: AP
The fighting that erupted in August with rebels led by renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda in violation of a January ceasefire had so far been limited to Nord-Kivu.
SADC head Tomaz Salomao told reporters after a summit meeting in Johannesburg that the region backed calls for a ceasefire and the creation of a humanitarian corridor.
“SADC should immediately provide assistance to the armed forces of [DR Congo],” he said, reading out the summit’s communique.
“SADC will not stand by and witness any destructive acts of violence by any armed groups ... and if necessary will send peacekeeping forces,” he said.
Salomao said a military advisory team would be deployed immediately to lend advice to the DR Congo armed forces, while another team would be sent to evaluate the situation on the ground to determine what other help might be needed.
A military monitoring commission will also be dispatched to monitor DR Congo’s border with Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, he said
Salomao said the DR Congo armed forces needed help to protect the nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
He also said the region would ask the UN to expand the mandate of its peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC, which is not allowed to engage in active clashes in eastern DR Congo.
“Our position is to request the secretary-general of the UN to revise the terms of reference and mandate of MONUC,” Salomao said.
“Let’s wait, watch and see how the performance and behavior of MONUC will be on the ground,” he said. “Then we can take a further decision on deployment or not of peacekeeping forces in the SADC region.”
“We are aware that we are facing a tragedy and time is not on our side,” he said.
Salomao denied reports Angolan soldiers had already deployed inside the DR Congo but said they could be sent in quickly.
“If required, they will be on the ground soon, subject to the assessment and the report made by the military experts,” he said.
A spokesman for Nkunda’s group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), quickly responded that adding Angolan troops in eastern DR Congo could spread violence throughout the region.
“It would risk setting the Great Lakes region on fire,” CNDP spokesman Bertrand Bisimwa said. “It demonstrates the government’s willingness to involve former international warmongers in the current crisis.”
Angola sided with Kinshasa in the 1998-2003 regional conflict that erupted in the country then known as Zaire.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was