DRC

Nkunda says he will not take Goma

Article published on the 2008-10-30 Latest update 2008-10-30 16:49 TU

Congolese refugees walk past UN peacekeepers in Goma
(Photo: Reuters )

Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has told RFI that he does not intend to capture the city of Goma, after declaring a unilateral ceasefire late Wednesday. As thousands of people flee the combat, Nkunda said that his forces do not want to frighten civilians and called on government forces to follow his example.

"We have no intention of entering Goma," Nkunda told RFI's French service, saying that his forces are about six kilometres away from the city, although UN officials have said he is about 15 kilometres outside.

"We noticed that when we approached there was panic in the town," the Tutsi leader said. "We have decided unilaterally to call a halt as government troops have left Goma so there was no reason to frighten the civilian population. We came to a halt and unilaterally called a ceasefire."

Nkunda added that government troops seemed to have left the city and should follow his forces' example.

"We wrote to the international community to request that the government follows our example," he said. "We are waiting for a reply which should come soon.

"Goma was not our objective. Our objective was to have the threat against us lifted. What we want from the government is that talks should be held and that the conflict should be solved peacefully. We did not impose any deadline but the situation requires an urgent response."

The European Commission said Thursday it would give four million euros in emergency aid to help the population of the east of DR Congo.

At least 30,000 internal refugees are trapped between the rebels and UN forces blocking their access to Goma.

In the city itself, "things are becoming normal", according to provincial Vice-Governor Luticherwa Seller.

But he warns of problems in the making among those who have fled the conflict.

"Around Goma we have many, many camps," he told RFI. "We have two million internal displaced people and we think this is a big, big disaster … if nothing is done maybe we will have many, many diseases."

Seller added that the population is angry with UN forces for failing to protect them.

Currently 800 peacekeepers from the UN's Monuc force are patrolling the area around Goma.

An emergency session of the UN security council condemned the violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo late Wednesday.

The council also expressed alarm over cross-border firing between DR Congo and Rwanda. Rwanda denied firing on Congo, declaring that shells were fired from the eastern DRC into Rwanda's northern Ruhengeri region.

Meanwhile the DRC National Assembly on Thursday urged the government to hold peace talks with the rebels, RTNC state radio reported.

A "recommendation" approved in a plenary session by all deputies present, said that DR Congo "does not yet have a strong military, and in light of the situation, the path of dialogue is preferable".

It urged President Joseph Kabila to be open to all political figures and points of view and organise "a sacred union of  the nation's resources"  to get the DRC's people more involved.