UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
6 Mar
2009
Press Review
Increasingly alarming and uncertain military situation in Kanyabayonga (Eastern DRC), today?s local papers say, alluding to recent developments on the ground.
« Government troops reportedly pushed back in northern city», La Référence Plus titles, thus opening its front page with the Kanyabayonga fight. The paper quotes independent and foreign press sources as indicating « the renegade soldiers who seized control of Kanyabayonga, North Kivu province, declared Thursday they had pushed back government troops to 25 km North for the last two days. » During the recent days, the paper recalls, fights were reported 17 km North from Kanyabayonga. The mutineers declare they have further advanced about 8 km. « FARDC (DRC's Armed Forces)'s route in Kanyabayonga may be the result of failed integration of formerly belligerent forces », the paper writes.
L'AVENIR gives a different version of the story and L'OBSERVATEUR echoes the FARDC chief of staff statement highlighting «7 km from Northern Kanyabayonga rather than 25 km as declared by the invaders to the (foreign) press ». According to the FARDC spokesman, Colonel Richard Kasongo, who signed the 16 December declaration, « our armed forces whose striking force and sagacity are known to all, regained control of Mubi airport in Walikale this evening (Ndlr, Thursday), the crossroads of the illegal exploitation of the Congolese coltan by Rwandans who are currently routed in Walikale forests, leaving behind thirty five bodies. »
L'AVENIR, in turn, refers to the information released by foreign medias as «harmful propaganda ». It accuses Radio France International known as RFI « of disclosing all the FARDC-held positions, thereby serving the enemy's army» (Rwandan). According to this paper: « Kigali is making a media war based on lies'and has opened several fronts in addition to the Kanyabayonga, which is far from getting stabilised. Using diversion, Kigali's intent to open another front in South Kivu».
Le Potentiel is rather explicit. The headlines in this paper read: «Hidden Agenda on Eastern DRC fight. Kinshasa, the target», highlighting that « the Eastern DRC clashes is indicative of a simple diversion, whilst the power in Kinshasa is indeed the target. » The paper further writes: « Any attempt to overturn Kinshasa institutions, in the current circumstances, would be tantamount to putting the whole Great Lakes region to fire and the sword». The paper concludes: «'The pyromaniacs must be immediately stopped before it is too late. If not, the UN, the European Union and the African Union will be held responsible for not doing anything to prevent the escalation» .
We might not go thus far, alluding to Alpha Omar Konaré's statement « the head of the African Union (UA) recalled that situation in Eastern DRC and relations between DRC and Rwanda will be discussed by the Security and Peace Council summit meeting due on 10 January 2005. In the meantime, he urged the dissidents to comply with military rule of their army and called on all the parties to show restraint and refrain from initiating any action likely to disrupt the DRC peace and transition process», in a communiqué issued in Addis Ababa on 15 December 2004.
In the same context, Kinshasa has taken a number of initiatives. « A joint Government-Army delegation arrived in Goma on Thursday. The purpose of the mission is to find out the reasons that prompted the fight in Kanyabayonga and to diffuse tensions in this region», according to the Defence Minister, Jean-Pierre Ondekane, quoted by Le Potentiel.
L'AVENIR gives a different version of the story and L'OBSERVATEUR echoes the FARDC chief of staff statement highlighting «7 km from Northern Kanyabayonga rather than 25 km as declared by the invaders to the (foreign) press ». According to the FARDC spokesman, Colonel Richard Kasongo, who signed the 16 December declaration, « our armed forces whose striking force and sagacity are known to all, regained control of Mubi airport in Walikale this evening (Ndlr, Thursday), the crossroads of the illegal exploitation of the Congolese coltan by Rwandans who are currently routed in Walikale forests, leaving behind thirty five bodies. »
L'AVENIR, in turn, refers to the information released by foreign medias as «harmful propaganda ». It accuses Radio France International known as RFI « of disclosing all the FARDC-held positions, thereby serving the enemy's army» (Rwandan). According to this paper: « Kigali is making a media war based on lies'and has opened several fronts in addition to the Kanyabayonga, which is far from getting stabilised. Using diversion, Kigali's intent to open another front in South Kivu».
Le Potentiel is rather explicit. The headlines in this paper read: «Hidden Agenda on Eastern DRC fight. Kinshasa, the target», highlighting that « the Eastern DRC clashes is indicative of a simple diversion, whilst the power in Kinshasa is indeed the target. » The paper further writes: « Any attempt to overturn Kinshasa institutions, in the current circumstances, would be tantamount to putting the whole Great Lakes region to fire and the sword». The paper concludes: «'The pyromaniacs must be immediately stopped before it is too late. If not, the UN, the European Union and the African Union will be held responsible for not doing anything to prevent the escalation» .
We might not go thus far, alluding to Alpha Omar Konaré's statement « the head of the African Union (UA) recalled that situation in Eastern DRC and relations between DRC and Rwanda will be discussed by the Security and Peace Council summit meeting due on 10 January 2005. In the meantime, he urged the dissidents to comply with military rule of their army and called on all the parties to show restraint and refrain from initiating any action likely to disrupt the DRC peace and transition process», in a communiqué issued in Addis Ababa on 15 December 2004.
In the same context, Kinshasa has taken a number of initiatives. « A joint Government-Army delegation arrived in Goma on Thursday. The purpose of the mission is to find out the reasons that prompted the fight in Kanyabayonga and to diffuse tensions in this region», according to the Defence Minister, Jean-Pierre Ondekane, quoted by Le Potentiel.
