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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN Weekly Round-up 44
28 October -  3 November 2000



CONTENTS:

DRC: RCD appoints new leader, reshuffles team
DRC: Bunia rebels resolve "internal crisis"
DRC: New rebel group operating in northeast
DRC: Six-nation summit calls for end to regional instability
DRC: Rebels, government trrops trade accusations
DRC: Massive influx of regugees expected from Angola
GREAT LAKES: WFP notes rising food needs
BURUNDI: Sabena resumes flights to Bujumbura
UGANDA: Ebola virus spreads south
UGANDA: Impounded Burundi weapons released
UGANDA: Army commander in Angola
RWANDA: Prisons in "deplorable" situation
RWANDA: Britain extradites leading genocide suspect

DRC: RCD appoints new leader, reshuffles team

The governing Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD), based in
the eastern Congolese town of Goma, has carried out a major reshuffle
after its leader Emile Ilunga resigned at the weekend. RCD spokesman
Kin-Kiey Mulumba told IRIN on Monday Ilunga had admitted that the
executive team had failed in its work and that he "recognised the mistakes
of his leadership". There had been mobilisation and communication
problems, Ilunga told a meeting of the movement's founders on 28 October.
He himself had had "difficulties" and was therefore tendering his
resignation as president, although he would remain a member of the
"revolution". His two vice-presidents, Jean-Pierre Ondekane and Moise
Nyarugabo, resigned at the same time. [For full story see separate IRIN
item of 30 October headlined "Rebel leader resigns admitting 'errors'"].

DRC: Bunia rebels resolve "internal crisis"

Members of the Bunia-based Rassemblement congolais pour la
democratie-Mouvement de liberation (RCD-ML), returned to Bunia at the end
of last week after spending 15 days in Uganda. Rebel-controlled Bunia
radio said they had returned after "resolving the internal crisis" in the
movement. "The committee was charged with looking into the fundamental
texts of the movement's constitution," RCD-ML spokesman, Jean-Ernest Louis
Kayiviro, who was also a member of the team, told IRIN on Monday. "The
committee actually wrote a new political programme, new constitution and
internal regulations," he said.

Meanwhile, there were demonstrations in Bunia on Monday against "rumours"
of changes affecting the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) local
military command and the presidential protection unit. "The UPDF made
changes without consulting us, not even our president [Wamba dia Wamba],"
Kayivira told IRIN. "As we are looking for support from the people, we
have learnt not to undertake any project without consulting them," he
said. "UPDF cannot impose on us, we have to be consulted," he insisted.
Kayiviro noted that the UPDF had "ignored" Wamba in its decision to remove
Colonel Charles Angina and even in changing the entire presidential guard.

DRC: "New" rebel group operating in northeast

A "new" rebel group, Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Nationale
(RCD-N), led by Rogers Lumbala, is reportedly operating in Bafwasende,
northeast of Kisangani. According to RCD-ML spokesman, Jean-Ernest Louis
Kayiviro, Lumbala and his group "are corrupting and destroying the name of
the RCD-ML". "Lumbala was originally a member of RCD-Goma, but he cheated
us that he had joined our movement," Kayiviro told IRIN. "We deployed him
as our mobilisation officer in the Kisangani area," he said. "Little did
we know that he was only interested in dealing in diamonds," he added.
Lumbala reportedly garnered the support of some UPDF soldiers and they
have been "harassing, killing and looting from the local community in the
area".

DRC: Six-nation summit calls for end to regional instability

During a six-nation summit of the Economic Community of Central African
States (CEEAC) held last week in Kinshasa, the DRC emphasised that the
"persistent aggression" against it was putting the stability of the
Central African region at risk. This "makes it imperative that peace
should not only be brought to the DRC but also to the whole region",
Angolan television noted on 27 October. The summit, in a joint communique,
called for the "unconditional withdrawal of the aggressors", adding that
the presence of the foreign forces could "ignite conflagration" in the
subregion. The summit was attended by Gabon's President Omar Bongo,
Republic of Congo's President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Equatorial Guinea's
Prime Minister Angel Malabo, Central African Republic's Prime Minister
Anicet Georges Dologuele, the DRC and Angola, the last two countries being
represented by their foreign ministers.

DRC: Rebels, government troops trade accusations

Rebel MLC leader Jean-Pierre Bemba on Tuesday accused government troops of
dropping three bombs on the town of Basankusu, northwestern DRC, last
week.  He told IRIN that the incidents were being investigated by the UN
Mission in the DRC (MONUC). However, the commander of the government
forces in Mbandaka, northwestern DRC, said that an MLC battalion had moved
from Ebona, some 12 km northwest of Bumba, to Libanda on the Giri River,
and another MLC battalion from Ebona had moved to Wenga on the
Basankusu-Bolombo road. According to diplomatic sources, the commander was
further advised by SADC Task Force headquarters that MLC forces in
Equateur Province "were making preparations for a possible attack".

DRC:  Massive refugee influx expected from Angola

UNHCR is preparing for an influx of up to 18,000 refugees into DRC from
Angola as a result of intensified clashes between government forces and
UNITA rebels in Angola's Lunda Norte Province, the agency stated on
Tuesday. The UNHCR had received reports that between 15,000 and 18,000
displaced Angolans had gathered in border villages waiting to cross into
the DRC province of Bandundu, southeast of Kinshasa, spokesman Kris
Janowski told a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The DRC already
hosts 170,000 Angolan refugees who fled during earlier stages of Angola's
civil war. UNHCR was expecting many of the Angolan refugees to cross into
Kahemba, not far inside the DRC, where the agency is already looking after
some 100,000 Angolan refugees, Janowski said.

GREAT LAKES: WFP notes rising food needs

WFP's latest emergency report says basic relief needs in the North and
South Kivu provinces of eastern DRC are constantly rising as the volatile
security situation continues to cause population displacements.
Malnutrition is still reported in South Kivu, especially in the forest
belts, where armed confrontations continue to hinder humanitarian
interventions. According to the health NGO, MERLIN, 11,000 internally
displaced persons (IDPs) from Shabunda in South Kivu have gathered in
Kalima (Maniema Province) fleeing insecurity. The available food stocks in
Kisenge in Katanga Province are decreasing as the total refugee caseload
nears 27,000.

The report noted that a total of 7,787 newly arrived refugees were
recorded in Tanzania during the past two weeks. The refugees arrived
mainly from Burundi, but also from Rwanda and the DRC. The influx of
Burundian refugees necessitated the opening of a second refugee camp,
Lukole A, in northwestern Tanzania, as the initial camp, Lukole B, had
reached full capacity. UNHCR's total provisional figure for the refugee
population in Tanzania is 489,793 persons, while a total of 483,818
received food during the last distribution.

During the past two weeks, WFP distributed 649 mt of food to approximately
117,000 people in Burundi's Bujumbura Rural Province in line with the
household food economy assessment recommendations. Several planned WFP
missions were cancelled in Bujumbura Rural and Gitega provinces as
security worsened in the area.

BURUNDI: Sabena resumes flights to Burundi

The Belgian airline, Sabena, on Monday resumed direct flights to Bujumbura
after a four-year suspension because of the civil war in that country. AFP
quoted Transport Minister Cyprien Mbonigaba as saying that the resumption
was "an encouraging sign for the Burundi government".

UGANDA: Ebola virus spreads south

The deadly ebola virus currently sweeping the northern district of Gulu
has now spread to southern Uganda, with the reported death of a soldier in
the town of Mbarara. This is the first case to be recorded outside Gulu
District since the disease was diagnosed last month. The soldier, an
attendant at a hospital in Mbarara, died on 27 October.News organisations
reported that he had been at the army barracks in Gulu and became ill
after moving to the barracks in Mbarara. However, the WHO spokesman said
the soldier had not been to Gulu and the means by which he contracted the
virus were unclear. A WHO team is currently in Mbarara investigating the
incident.

Reuters news agency said that the death would heighten concerns about the
disease spreading further. According to some reports, suspected cases of
Ebola have been discovered in the town of Ikotos in southern Sudan. WHO is
investigating in cooperation with a team of American NGOs.

A WHO spokesman told IRIN on Thursday that 11 new cases had been diagnosed
in Uganda, bringing the total to 262 cases, including 81 deaths.

UGANDA: Impounded Burundi weapons released

The Ugandan government has finally released a consignment of arms destined
for Burundi impounded by the country's security agencies last year while
in transit from the Kenyan port of Mombasa. 'The EastAfrican' weekly
newspaper reported on Monday that the decision to release the consignment
was reached last week after "intense consultations with regional leaders".
"It coincided with the two-day visit to Kampala by former South African
President Nelson Mandela, who is the facilitator of the Burundi peace
process," the newspaper said. The consignment comprises 28 containers
transported in 14 trucks belonging to Interfreight Panalpina, an
international clearing and transport company. The newspaper quoted sources
as saying that the arms were escorted to Burundi through Rwanda under
tight security.

UGANDA: Army commander in Angola

Uganda's army commander, Jeje Odongo, has been on a four-day visit to
Angola at the invitation of his Angolan counterpart, Joao Baptista de
Matos, the semi-official newspaper, 'The New Vision', reported on
Wednesday. The visit, according Odongo, was to strengthen ties between the
two countries and armies and to "pursue the exchange of points of view on
the problems of the region". He was due back in Uganda on Thursday. In
September, de Matos visited Kampala, where the two agreed to hold regular
meetings "to harmonise their security policies".

RWANDA: Prisons in "deplorable" situation

The UN Special Representative on the human rights situation in Rwanda,
Michel Moussalli, on Thursday said that while the number of prisoners in
the country had decreased slightly since 1999, lack of resources and the
drought of the past year had created a "deplorable situation". He told a
UN committee hearing that some of those incarcerated for common law crimes
went without food for four days, while overcrowding had forced prisoners
to be divided into "shifts" for sitting or sleeping. He said the Ministry
of Interior was taking "corrective steps". The first of such measures
would be communal projects which would allow prisoners to work outside
prisons.  Secondly, he noted that although the rate of case examinations
had increased, it would still take 200 years for the present judicial
system to examine currently outstanding cases. That was why, he said, the
Rwandan traditional justice system, known as 'gacaca', was being revived
and would probably be applied early next year. It required the election of
some 256,000 judges at the 'cellule' level, he noted. "If basic safeguards
are respected and applied, it is to be commended," Moussalli said.
"Obviously, the logistics and training requirements are considerable and
will need the support of the international community."

RWANDA: Britain extradites leading genocide suspect

The UK has transferred former Lt-Col Tharcisse Muvunyi, a leading Rwandan
genocide suspect, to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
in Arusha, northern Tanzania, to face trial for his alleged role in the
1994 Rwandan genocide, the Tribunal reported on Tuesday. Muvunyi - who
will answer five charges, including genocide or complicity in genocide,
direct and public incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity,
including rape - arrived at the ICTR detention centre in Arusha on Monday
after his extradition from Britain, an ICTR press release stated.
Muvunyi's transfer brings to 42 the number of accused people detained in
Arusha, the ICTR stated on Tuesday.


[IRIN-CEA: Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail:
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