Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - Violence continues in southern Kivu (Democratic Republic of Congo), where the regular army and the UN peace keeping mission MONUC have launched a military operation to try to stop the guerrilla groups from attacking the people.
The military offensive became necessary after three weeks of repeated raids by two armed groups on villages in the province of south Kivu. According to the United Nations about 8,000 people had to take shelter in the town of Walungu and more continue to arrive.
The aggressors are said to be members of two Rwandan guerrilla groups which have fought the Kigali government for years, theDemocratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and the “Rasta”. These groups have settled in Kivu and help destabilise the area. To counter these “negative forces” (trans-frontier groups active in the region), yesterday 19 April the Great Lakes countries reached an agreement for military collaboration.
The army chiefs of Democratic Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi met in Bujumbura and “agreed that military operations against these negative forces are vital for restoring peace and security” a statement said.
The political and military leaders of Democratic Congo say that no foreign troops, except UN peace keepers, are involved in this offensive. The agreement seems to established joint operations to close in the guerrilla groups on both sides of the border.
Besides the military aspect the agreement is important politically. Rwanda and Uganda have intervened more than once in Congo under the pretext of chasing guerrilla groups but in fact the aim was to lay hands on the enormous riches of Congo. This new agreement could lead to broader regional collaboration extended to the economic sector for the good of all. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 20/4/2007 righe 36 parole 425)
