BURUNDI-DRC-RWANDA: US seeks to speed peace process in region
The United States principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Mark Bellamy, announced on Sunday his country's willingness to accelerate the peace process in the Great Lakes region.
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)
BURUNDI-DRC-RWANDA: US seeks to speed peace process in region
NAIROBI, 15 July (IRIN) - The United States principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Mark Bellamy, announced on Sunday his country's willingness to accelerate the peace process in the Great Lakes region.
"We have come here today to accelerate the peace process," he said.
Bellamy met the Democratic Republic of the Congo foreign minister, Leonard She Okitundu, in Kinshasa, with whom he discussed ongoing fighting between Banyamulenge soldiers and the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) armed opposition movement in Minembwe, in the hauts plateaux region in South Kivu Province, eastern DRC.
"These confrontations underline the necessity to put an end to war in the country as soon as possible," the Bellamy said.
He announced plans to continue discussions on the matter with Congolese and Rwandan authorities. Kigali accuses Kinshasa and pro-government militias of supporting the Banyamulenge in Minembwe. Rwanda has long accused the DRC of sheltering other armed groups, such as the former Rwandan military and Hutu militias, largely responsible for that nation's 1994 genocide.
Kinshasa has denied the accusations and has called for an international commission of inquiry to investigate the status of armed groups in the region. On this proposal, Bellamy affirmed that a means of identifying and quantifying armed groups must be found.
Regarding the proposed establishment of a buffer zone between Congolese and Rwandan troops along the two nations' common border, he said that the two governments should examine the issue.
[ENDS]
[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or
to change your keywords, contact e-mail: [email protected] or Web:
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002