Kinshasa (Fides Service) - Of all the conflicts that afflict east Congo, the war between Hema and Lendu tribes is the most ferocious. These peoples live in the Ituri region on the Uganda border. The Lendu, about 700,000 are mainly subsistence farmers and the Hema, 150,000 are herdsmen. Although both tribes speak the same language and inter-marry they fight over land. These violent land disputes have been fanned by the presence of Ugandan troops which invaded this region in the late 1990s. The foreigners supplied warriors of both tribes with weapons and training triggering an unprecedented climate of violence. The aim of the Ugandans was clearly to divide the local people in order to gain control of a region rich in resources, precious timber and gold. To find a way out of this spiral of violence, intellectuals and leaders of the Lendu and Hema in Kisangani, the main town in eastern Congo have signed a statement for peace. "The statement affirms that previously the two groups lived peacefully side by side and they are destined to share the same land" a local Church source told Fides Service "the statement also underlines that <human life is sacred> and calls the two groups to reconciliation. The statement is being circulated everywhere also in parishes, and this is an important step towards peace". (Fides Service 19/11/2002)