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Ugandan military on high alert as refugees flee fighting in Congo
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dpa German Press Agency
Published:
Wednesday December 6, 2006
Kampala- The Ugandan army said Wednesday it has put its
forces on high alert to stem a possible spillover of fighting in the
east of the Democratic Republic of Congo as thousands of refugees
fled into Uganda to escape battles between Congolese forces and
renegade troops.
The number of people, mostly women and children, fleeing into the
mountainous district of Kisoro has risen to near 20,000 while battles
between Congolese government forces and those of renegade army
General Laurent Nkunda were still going on Tuesday night, a Ugandan
military officer told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
"Over 12,000 Congolese are already camped in two places of
Bunagana and Nyakabande both on the Ugandan and Congolese sides and
many more are coming. The number could be higher than 20,000," said
the region's army spokesman, Lieutenant Tabaro Kiconco.
"Last night, fighting was still going on between Nkunda's group
and government forces and gunfire could be heard. We have sent our
signals right into the DRC ordering Congolese fighters crossing with
arms to report to authorities," Kiconco said by telephone from the
district town of Kisoro, 500 kilometers from the capital Kampala.
The battles are mostly concentrated in the village of Runyonyi, 17
kilometers from the Ugandan border, and the refugees are heading to
Kisoro, which lies between the Congolese and Rwandan borderlines,
Kiconco said.
"We are telling any armed fighters to report and those who fail to
do so and end up in the bushes while armed will be regarded as a
security threat and we will not hesitate to take severe action
against them. Last night, there was a lot of gunfire and the United
Nations military chopper which was flying overheard to scatter the
rebels, also scared the refugees," he said.
General Nkunda, who hails from Congo's Banyamulenge ethnic group,
has been stubbornly refusing to fuse his forces into the country's
national army, saying members of his tribe were being harassed and
marginalized.
Under the support of the Rwandan army in 1997, the Banyamulenge
formed the core of the forces that removed the late dictator Mobutu
Sese Seko from power in the country formerly known as Zaire.
The UN has deployed the world's largest number of peace-keepers in
the vast country since it plunged into violence after Mobutu's ouster.
Officials from the UN refugee agency UNHCR told dpa Wednesday that
the organization has sent a team to Kisoro to assess the situation
and document the number of fleeing civilians.
"We cannot confirm the numbers now but we have heard reports of
5,000 to 10,000 refugees entering the district of Kisoro. Our team
left this morning to assess the situation. But we already have a
contingency plan in place. We will give details after assessing the
situation," said the UNHCR's spokesperson in Kampala, Roberta Russo.
© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency
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