AFRICA/GREAT LAKES REGION - National armies where former tribal enemies march shoulder to shoulder are one condition for peace in Great Lakes countries

Monday, 22 March 2004

Rome (Fides Service)- Building national armies with men enlisted from all the warring parties is one condition for restoring peace in the countries of Africa’s Great Lakes region. At present Democratic Republic of Congo DRC and Burundi are forming first national contingents of former enemies marching shoulder to shoulder.
In DRC, at Kisangani, soldiers of the first integrated battalion of the national army completed their training on March 18th. The battalion is composed of 850 men from the former government army (loyal to President Kabila) and from the different rebel groups active in eastern Congo. The soldiers followed a 6 week course on peace keeping tactics. Kinshasa government has announced that the battalion will be deployed in Ituri, north east Congo, where fighting between different armed groups and violence against civilians continues. In the area there are 4,000 men of the UN mission MONUC deployed by the United Nations in September 2003. The government has said that in the coming months it will train two more integrated battalions for the new national army.
In Burundi, on March 16 the first 200 members of the FDD rebel group Forces for Defence of Democracy arrived at a training camp near Bururi, in south west Burundi, where they will follow a course in view of integration in the national Burundian army. The convoy carrying the 200 men was led by army chief of staff General Adolphe Nshimirimana. The General said that 800 government troops and 400 from the FDD will follow joint training courses to form a new Special Security Unit to protect institutions and government members.
On the basis of an agreement signed on 16 November in 2003 at Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania between the Burundian government and the FDD, the former rebels have the vice-presidency, four ministries, 40% army officer posts and 35% police officer posts. (L.M.) )(Agenzia Fides 22/3/2004, righe 31 parole 369)


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