MESSAGE BOARD: Congo peace?

August 17, 1999
Web posted at: 12:44 p.m. EDT (1644 GMT)

KISANGANI, Congo -- Rwanda and Uganda agreed to a cease-fire Tuesday to end four days of fighting over the Democratic Republic of Congo's third largest city, Kisangani.

"The meeting between (Ugandan) President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan Vice President Paul Kagame has ended," said Museveni spokesman Hope Kivengere. "They have agreed an immediate cease-fire between their forces in Kisangani."

Troops from the two countries battled for the fourth straight day over control of Kisangani Tuesday morning, as their leaders huddled in a Uganda national park looking for a solution to the crisis.

Residents in Kisangani hid in their houses to escape the gunfire between the two central African countries, formerly allies in a rebel drive to topple the government of Congo President Laurent Kabila.

Conflict between Rwanda and Uganda erupted into the open last May, with each backing rival leaders of a splintered rebel group.

Museveni and Kagame met well into the night Monday at Museveni's holiday home at Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwestern Uganda. After a few hours of sleep, the two resumed their talks.

A temporary solution failed Monday when the troops fighting in Kisangani honored a cease-fire for only a few hours. Both sides accused the other of breaking the truce.

Both sides also claim the upper hand in the fighting, but neither contention could be independently confirmed.

Rivalry between Uganda-backed Ernest Wamba dia Wamba and Rwanda-backed Emile Ilunga for the leadership of the Congolese Rally for Democracy scuttled a peace agreement reached last month between Congo and six other countries. Both Wamba and Ilunga insisted that they should be the rightful signer for the rebel group.

Wamba led the group until he was ousted by Ilunga in May.

In Maputo, Mozambique, leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) prepared for a Wednesday summit where they expected to focus on the Congo crisis.

On Tuesday, Congo President Laurent Kabila abruptly left informal talks ahead of that meeting, citing "the security situation in his country."

Congo Justice Minister Mwenze Kongolo said the 14-nation African organization failed to grasp the true scope of the year-long crisis.

"The fighting in Kisangani between Rwanda and Uganda is abundant proof of what we have always told the world -- that there are no rebels in the Congo, but only aggressors," Kongolo said. "They are fighting in Kisangani over gold and diamonds. This is equivalent to highway robbery, which the international community must be bold enough to condemn."

Zambian President Frederick Chiluba said the SADC was "conducting urgent consultations ... to bring the cease-fire back on track."

But SADC Executive Secretary Kaire Mbuende held up little hope.

"No solution appears in sight at the moment," he said. "There is no chance we can get the rebels to sign."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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