Weekly anb09263.txt #8

[anb-bia <anb-bia at village.uunet.be>]

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 26-09-2002      PART #3/8

* Burundi. Army admits massacre  -  19 September: The Burundian army has 
admitted killing 173 civilians in the central province of Gitega 10 days 
ago. But army spokesman Colonel Augustin Nabampema said that Hutu rebels of 
the Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) were "fully responsible for 
all the civilian who died on 9 September", saying that the rebels had taken 
the civilians as "hostages" and "accomplices". The army's figure is less 
than the one of 183 quoted on 17 September by a senior Burundian MP who 
called for an official investigation into the reported killings by 
uniformed men. The killings took place in a region which has seen fierce 
fighting between rebels and the Tutsi-dominated army. Heavy fighting 
between government troops and rebels has been going on for several months 
as South African mediators attempt to get the main rebel groups to agree to 
a cease-fire. At least 200,000 people, most of them civilians, have been 
killed during Burundi's nine year civil war. The chairman of the 
parliament's human rights committee, Leonidas Ntibayazi, who is head of 
Burundi's main Hutu party, Frodebu, said the men had ordered people out of 
their houses and "then told them to lie down and shot them in cold blood". 
He did not, however, identify those responsible. "Whether it was the army 
or the rebels... we demand an official inquiry because it would be 
premature to accuse one group or another at this point," Mr Ntibayazi said 
on 17 September. He said there were many women and children among the 
victims. Correspondents say local witnesses, who refused to give their 
names, claimed that government soldiers had shot the civilians. 20 
September: The Burundi army denies responsibility for the massacre, saying 
it had been "deliberately misquoted". 21 September: A report from MISNA 
says that the Apostolic Nuncio in Burundi is "shocked by the silence 
surrounding the massacre in the Itaba Hills. I am shocked by the 
international silence, even though the EU is closely following the case, 
but what is even more surprising is the silence inside the nation". 25 
September: MISNA reports that this morning, army spokesman Colonel Augustin 
Nzabampema once again commented on the 9 September massacre. (Actual 
numbers of those killed vary -- The military says 183; other sources place 
the death toll at over 1,200). The officer admitted that a small group of 
soldiers had opened fire against civilians but gave a series of 
justifications for what happened. The Colonel also said that the military 
commission conducting an investigation into what happened, has not yet 
completed its work.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 September 2002)

* Central Afr. Republic. Anti-leprosy campaign in west  -  An anti-leprosy 
campaign has been conducted in western regions of the Central African 
Republic (CAR) with the aim of educating the population about preliminary 
signs of leprosy. "The campaign was aimed at drawing the attention of the 
population to the preliminary signs of leprosy, of which they are often 
unaware," Dr Nicolas Felicien Dologuele, coordinator of the national 
anti-leprosy programme, said. The campaign, which ran from 4-14 September, 
included the training of nurses and medical assistants in caring for 
lepers. The CAR is among the 15 nations in the world where the rate of 
leprosy is still very high. "The CAR is a hyper-endemic zone," said 
Dologuele. He said any country whose rate of infection was beyond one 
infected person per 10,000 inhabitants was deemed hyper-endemic. The CAR 
has 1.24 infected people per 10,000 inhabitants, or the equivalent of 455 
out of a total national population of 3.5 million. According to Dologuele, 
among the 455 infected, 347 are multi-bacillary cases "which represent the 
most infectious form of leprosy".   (IRIN, Kenya, 19 September 2002)

* Centrafrique/Tchad. Nouveaux affrontements?  -  Un nouveau cycle de 
combats a éclaté le long de la frontière de la RCA et du Tchad, dans le 
village tchadien de Tizi, durant la nuit du 19 au 20 septembre. Le 
gouvernement tchadien a accusé la Centrafrique d'être derrière cette 
attaque, ajoutant que l'armée tchadienne avait abattu un assaillant, blessé 
un autre et capturé plusieurs. L'armée centrafricaine a démenti toute 
responsabilité dans cette attaque, l'imputant plutôt à des braconniers 
soudanais, réputés dans cette région pour leur violence.   (IRIN, Abidjan, 
23 septembre 2002)

* Congo-Brazzaville. Human rights controversy surrounds president's visit 
to France  -  The current week-long visit of Congolese President Denis 
Sassou-Nguesso to Paris has been met with protests by human rights groups 
based both in France and the Republic of Congo. They are angry over 
Brazzaville's alleged failure to prosecute those responsible for the 
disappearance of over 350 Congolese returning from exile in the 
neighbouring Congo RDC in 1999. In an open letter to French President 
Jacques Chirac on 18 September, the International Human Rights Federation 
(FIDH) and the Ligue Française des Droits de L'Homme et du Citoyen (LDH) 
recalled that since December 2001, a case against members of the 
Brazzaville regime -- including Sassou-Nguesso, Interior Minister Pierre 
Oba, Commander of the Republican Guard Blaise Adoua, and Army Inspector Gen 
Norbert Dabira -- has been pending. The case is before the High Court in 
the French town of Meaux for alleged crimes of torture, forced 
disappearance, and crimes against humanity. The case is based on the events 
of May 1999, when thousands of Congolese who had fled fighting that had 
plagued Brazzaville since 1998 chose to return to the capital, taking 
advantage of a "humanitarian corridor" established by the UNHCR. Numerous 
sources present at the time determined that over 350 individuals 
"disappeared" during their return from exile. They have become known as the 
"Disparus du Beach" -- those who disappeared from Brazzaville's port known 
as "le Beach" on the Congo River.   (IRIN, Kenya, 19 September 2002)

* Congo-Brazza. Sassou N'Guesso à Paris  -  Le président congolais Denis 
Sassou N'Guesso effectue, du 18 au 24 septembre, sa première visite de 
travail en France depuis qu'il est revenu au pouvoir. Le 19 septembre, il a 
reçu le ministre français des Affaires étrangères. Il devait s'entretenir 
par la suite avec plusieurs personnalités, notamment le président-directeur 
général de Total-Fina-Elf, le principal exploitant du pétrole congolais. Sa 
visite a été très mal accueillie par les opposants congolais en exil en 
France et les associations des droits de l'homme. Celles-ci le tiennent 
pour coresponsable de la "disparition" de centaines de réfugiés rapatriés 
en 1999. La Fédération internationale des ligues des doits de l'homme a 
déposé plainte en France dans cette affaire. Entre mai et juillet 1999, 353 
personnes auraient été enlevées au port fluvial de Brazzaville. Selon les 
témoignages concordants de trois rescapés, qui se sont constitués partie 
civile, la garde présidentielle aurait raflé, puis exécuté ces 
rapatriés.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 20 septembre 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Mouvements de population à l'Est  -  Les frontières très 
perméables de l'est de la RDC connaissent actuellement des vagues de 
populations qui inquiètent plus d'un observateur. Après le mouvement de 
retour spectaculaire de plus de 10.000 réfugiés congolais du Rwanda, sans 
le consentement du HCR, on signale l'arrivée de plus de 200 familles dans 
l'extrême nord de la province du Nord-Kivu. Ces personnes ont installé leur 
village, avec plus de 2.200 têtes de bétail, à Kaluluma dans le parc 
national de Virunga, une réserve forestière du patrimoine mondial sous la 
surveillance de l'Unesco. Elles se réclament originaires de cette contrée, 
qu'elles ont désertée pour fuir en Ouganda pendant la rébellion lumumbiste 
de 1963-64. Mais selon les autorités locales, il s'agirait d'Ankole (la 
tribu du président ougandais Museveni). D'autre part, du côté de Goma, les 
habitants observent chaque nuit le passage de troupeaux de boeufs qui 
accompagnent les rapatriés vers Kichanga.   (PANA, Sénégal, 20 septembre 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Peace in the balance  -  Only days after Rwandan troops 
began withdrawing from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last week, 
there are signs of a potentially frightening breakdown in the region. It is 
two months since delegates from the two countries met in Pretoria and 
raised new hopes of an end to one of the world's most destructive 
conflicts, which has left central Africa in turmoil and wrecked the lives 
of millions of Congolese. The key was a promise by Congo to disarm 
anti-Rwandan militia under its control, whose presence caused Rwanda to 
invade in 1998, capturing almost half the country. In return, Kigali would 
remove its estimated 30,000 troops. Zimbabwe and Uganda, also with troops 
in the country, said they would leave too. Long-time Congo-watchers were 
sceptical, but -- to the surprise of many --the process appears to have 
begun in earnest. Last week Rwanda began pulling out troops and armour from 
Kindu, on the Upper Congo river, with the process expected to extend to 
other areas under its control this week. But within hours of the first 
withdrawals, reports emerged of traditional Mai Mai militias ransacking the 
region around Kalima. Later last week, gun battles broke out in Kindu as 
Mai Mai leaders met the Rwandan-backed rebel administration of the 
Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) for talks. The BBC reported further 
shooting over the weekend, and United Nations officials say that while some 
calm has returned, the situation remains tense. One predicted that the 
coming days could bring "a period of local anarchy [in the region] that 
will go on for some time". While nothing is clear in Congo's complex and 
largely inaccessible east, many are wondering whether the region is 
beginning to see exactly the unravelling that Rwanda, under intense 
diplomatic pressure to leave, had warned of. Without its Rwandan 
godfathers, and with no other stabilisation force in place, the RCD 
suddenly looks much weaker and open to score-settling. "The fighting 
between the Mai Mai and the RCD has resulted in precisely the situation the 
president [Paul Kagame] warned the United Nations against," says Nicholas 
Shailta, Rwanda's director of information. "The troops were a stabilising 
factor; the onus is now on the United Nations and the international 
community. This is a situation the world must get involved in." (Editor's 
note: Uganda has begun its pull out of troops from Gbadolite. The Ugandans 
say they have already pulled their forces out of Beni, but will retain a 
force in Bunia.)   (Financial Times, UK, 24 September 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Combats dans le nord-est  -  La trêve observée par le RCD-ML 
(Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie-Mouvement de libération) de 
Mbusa Nyamwisi et son adversaire, le MLC (Mouvement de libération du Congo) 
de Jean-Pierre Bemba, appuyé par celle de son allié Roger Lumbala, n'a pas 
duré longtemps, indique l'agence Misna. Selon des sources locales, de 
violents combats se sont déroulés ces derniers jours près de la petite 
localité de Nia-Nia (à 250 km d'Isiro). Reprendre cette localité, riche en 
gisements d'or, représente pour le RCD-ML une source de nouveaux 
financements pour mener son offensive grâce au trafic du métal précieux. Le 
commerce de diamants dans les zones de Beni et de Kasindi représente une 
autre source de revenus des troupes de Nyamwisi. La Monuc a effectué la 
semaine dernière une visite à Isiro. Elle a encore demandé au MLC et au 
RCD-ML d'épargner la population civile qui n'a rien à voir avec le conflit 
armé. - Le 25 septembre, le représentant spécial de l'Onu, Amos Namanga 
Ngongi, s'est déclaré "profondément préoccupé" par la poursuite des 
violences en Ituri. Il a noté également que "à Bunia, les populations 
fuient la ville pour chercher refuge dans les villages voisins, craignant 
que l'Union des patriotes congolais (UPC, miliciens héma) qui contrôlent la 
ville, n'assure pas leur sécurité". M. Ngongi a lancé un appel à une trêve 
et annoncé la création d'une commission de pacification de l'Ituri, 
réunissant des représentants de l'Ouganda, de la RDC et de la 
Monuc.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 25 septembre 2002)

* Congo (RDC). Bunia sinks into isolation  -  The situation in Bunia, 
(Ituri region), worsens by the day. Following the expulsion of the 
Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement (RCD-ML) (also known as 
the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Bunia [RCD-Bunia]), the city lies in the 
hands of the Hema militia of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), which 
have been unable to provide little security for the population who are 
continuing to flee from the city. The UPC are trying to stop this exodus by 
every means, but with little success. Bunia is slowly sinking into 
isolation. There is much instability in the region and even the UPC's 
position is not very solid.   (MISNA, Italy, 25 September 2002)

Weekly anb0926.txt - Part #3/8